Prices fall for residential solar, demand is up for battery storage – EnergySage

Residential solar and battery storage marketplace EnergySage just released its latest insights report for H1 2024 – here are 3 of its top-line findings.

EnergySage* provides quotes to solar shoppers across 50 states and Washington D.C., so it gets great insight into what’s happening in the residential solar and battery storage sector.

The “19th EnergySage Intel Solar & Storage Marketplace Report” analyzes millions of transaction-level data points from homeowners shopping on EnergySage.com from January through June 2024 for solar panels, inverters, batteries, and more.

After a challenging but record-breaking year in 2023 for residential solar installations in the US, the first six months of 2024 have been characterized by near-record-low solar prices, persistently high interest rates, surging homeowner demand for storage, and shifting shopper motivations. These factors, along with recent interest rate cuts, suggest the industry is at a turning point, with the potential for lower solar and storage pricing, higher-quality equipment, and better financing options in the second half of the year.

Below are three key insights from EnergySage‘s latest report:

Residential solar prices approach all-time lows, while storage prices reach new record lows

Solar prices fell for the second six-month period in a row, reaching $2.69 per watt and nearing the all-time lowest quoted prices EnergySage has seen since beginning to track data in 2014. Quoted storage prices also dropped, setting a record low of $1,133 per kilowatt-hour stored.

“We’re at a pivotal moment for solar pricing, where ongoing cost reductions are enabling more homeowners to make the switch to clean energy,” said Spencer Fields, EnergySage’s director of insights. “The combination of near-record low prices and more consumer-friendly financing options is creating new opportunities for wider adoption.”

Battery storage purchase skyrockets

The percentage of US homeowners purchasing a battery with their solar panels on EnergySage.com climbed to 34% in the first half of 2024. California was a key driver, with an attachment rate of 70% following the implementation of the Net Billing Tariff in April 2023. However, the attachment rate outside California also rose steeply to 22%. For the first time, the report includes highlights from a consumer resiliency survey and a homeowner product interest survey, featuring insights on battery interest, setup, and consumer satisfaction.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in storage adoption, driven by evolving policies, lower lithium prices, and consumer demand for energy resilience,” said Emily Walker, senior research analyst at EnergySage. “The high attachment rates across the country signal that more homeowners are prioritizing energy independence alongside solar as they become more economical.”

Installers are quoting higher-interest rate, lower-cost loan products

From H2 2023 to H1 2024, the median interest rate in quotes increased from 5.5% to 7.49%, while the average loan fee dropped from 47% to 40%, respectively. The most-quoted loan product in H1 2024 was a 7.99%, 20-year loan with no fees, driving the spike in the median interest rate and drop in average loan fee.

“EnergySage was created to drive maximum transparency and help consumers find high-quality suppliers on our platform,” said Charlie Hadlow, president and COO of EnergySage. “This report is just one piece of that puzzle and serves to help industry stakeholders separate the signal from the noise and fact from fiction. With high-profile solar bankruptcies like SunPower and Titan Solar Power, along with more attention on a subset of players using aggressive sales tactics, EnergySage’s approach has never been more crucial to the sustainable growth of these industries.”

*EnergySage is a trusted affiliate of Electrek

Read more: Here’s how the Fed’s interest rate cut is going to help you go solar