Solar lead generation companies: what each model sells, how to test a vendor's leads, and the expired tax credit that still sits in solar ads

Solar lead generation companies sell installers one of four things: a homeowner's contact shared with several installers, a contact sold only to you, a booked appointment, or a program that builds your own channels so enquiries come straight to you. The right choice depends on how fast your team calls and how well it qualifies, so judge every vendor on cost per signed contract rather than cost per lead. Before you buy, check two things that are specific to solar today: the consent record behind each phone number, and whether the ads that produced the lead still promise a federal homeowner tax credit that the IRS says ended for systems placed in service after 31 December 2025.

The four things sold as solar leads

Many vendors sell more than one of these, and some also resell leads that have aged out of a first sale. Ask which model each lead in your feed came from, because the same price buys very different odds.

Why cost per lead misleads in solar

Residential solar has a long sale with many places to drop out. A homeowner can fill in a form to see a savings number, then turn out to rent, have a shaded roof, have a low bill, or fail a credit check. Every one of those was still a billable lead.

So measure three numbers by vendor, every month:

• Contact rate: the share of leads your team actually reached.
• Qualified appointment rate: the share that met your qualification fields and sat for a consultation.
• Cost per signed contract: total spend with that vendor divided by contracts signed from it.

A vendor that lowers cost per lead while your cost per signed contract rises is selling you more forms, not more customers. Tag each lead with its vendor when it arrives and keep the tag through to the signed contract.

Qualification fields to put in the contract

A disputed lead needs a test, not an argument. Write down what makes a lead billable before the first one arrives:

• Homeowner, not tenant, at the address given.
• Address inside your service area and in a utility you install for.
• Roof type and age, and shading, where the form asks.
• Average monthly electricity bill above a level you set.
• A working phone number and a stated timeline.

Then agree the credit rule: which failures are credited, within how many days, and how the vendor checks a claim. Vendors that will not commit to written criteria are telling you how disputes will go.

The consent behind every phone number

Solar leads are worked by phone and text, and that brings the Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules into every lead. Under 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2), autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing calls and texts to a mobile number need "the prior express written consent of the called party". Section 64.1200(f)(9) defines that as a written agreement, signed by the person, that "clearly authorizes the seller" to make those calls, with a disclosure that signing is not "a condition of purchasing any property, goods, or services".

An FCC rule adopted in 2023 would have required consent to name one seller at a time. The Eleventh Circuit vacated it on 24 January 2025 in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, and it is not in the current text, which we read on eCFR as current to 19 October 2026. The consent must still authorize the seller who calls. A form that lists dozens of "partners" in small print is a poor foundation for your outbound calls. Ask every vendor for a sample consent record that shows the form wording, the time stamp and where your company was named. Consent can also be revoked "by using any reasonable method", so your dialer needs to honour a "stop" from any channel.

This page is not legal advice. State telemarketing laws can add their own rules, so check the states you sell in.

The tax credit that ended, and why it matters to your leads

For years, solar ads leaned on the federal homeowner tax credit. The IRS page for the Residential Clean Energy Credit now says "The credit is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025" (irs.gov, read 21 October 2026). A lead that came from an ad still promising that credit to a homeowner arrives expecting a saving you cannot give, and that conversation usually ends the sale.

Ask vendors to show you the ads and landing pages that produce your leads. If they still promise the expired homeowner credit, ask for them to be changed before you pay for more, because the homeowner will hold your company to the promise, not the vendor's.

Your own channels beside bought leads

Google lists "Solar energy contractor" among its Local Services Ads categories in the United States (help answer 6224841, read 21 October 2026), where advertisers "Pay only for leads related to your business and the services you offer", and the lead comes from your own profile. Referrals from past customers, installs people can see on their street and a site with real local project pages all produce leads no other installer receives. Most installers end up with a mix: bought leads to fill the sales calendar this month, own channels for the leads that are still arriving next year.

If you are choosing an agency rather than a lead seller, our comparison of solar marketing agencies judged on cost per signed contract sets out the contract terms for that purchase.

Questions about solar lead generation companies

Which solar lead generation company is best?

The one whose leads give you the lowest cost per signed contract in your own service area, measured over at least a few months. Run two vendors side by side on the same criteria and let your numbers decide.

Are exclusive solar leads worth the higher price?

Often, if your team is not set up to call within minutes. With shared leads, the first installer to reach the homeowner has the best chance, so speed decides the value.

How fast should we call a solar lead?

Within minutes during working hours. A shared lead that waits until the next day has usually spoken to another installer.

Can we text solar leads?

Texts count as calls under the TCPA rules. For autodialed or prerecorded marketing texts, you need prior express written consent that authorizes your company, and you must honour opt outs.

Should a new installer buy leads at all?

Buying a small number can help you learn your close rate and fill the first months. Build referrals and your own profile at the same time, so you are not paying for every customer forever.

The installer a homeowner hears about first

Some homeowners now ask ChatGPT or Gemini which solar installers near them are worth a quote, and they come to the form with two or three names already in mind. That shortlist forms before any lead is created, so no vendor can sell you a place on it. Knowing whether your company is on it is a different measurement from lead quality, and it is the one AI Knows Us makes, by asking the assistants the questions homeowners ask and showing which installers they name.