The solar industry has product data. Homeowners need lived experience.
Manufacturers publish efficiency ratings. Installers highlight reviews. Utilities and agencies track megawatts and adoption trends. But ask a straightforward question like Would you do it again? and there is still no large-scale, independent answer.
What future homeowners need is not just more sales language or spec sheets. They need the perspective of real people with real systems, real bills, and real outcomes across different states, finance types, and installation years.
These are the questions that cut through the marketing. Around them, the census adds context: installation year, financing method, system size, battery ownership, system performance, and installer satisfaction.
When enough responses come in, the result becomes something the solar industry still lacks: a homeowner-first snapshot of what going solar has actually felt like across the country.
Published openly. Free to read. Built to help future buyers.
EnergyScout will publish the results of the 2026 Solar Homeowner Census openly at EnergyScout.io. No paywall. No gated PDF. No email required to read the findings.
We plan to break results down by state, financing method, installation year, battery ownership, and other major patterns that can help future homeowners make better-informed decisions. Over time, the goal is to repeat the census annually and build one of the most useful homeowner-centered datasets in residential solar.
This census is not sponsored by installers or manufacturers, and responses will not be used for sales follow-up.