Solar Automation in the Home Buying Experience

Mass scale adoption of distributed solar requires a different approach than what is used today. The customer acquisition cost (CAC) is still too high, it takes too long to close the deal and expensive financing schemes are the norm in the industry. CAC and financing costs are nearly 38% of the cost to install residential solar today vs. an established industry like new automobiles which only consume 6.5% of the cost of a new vehicle for CAC and financing costs according to Wood Mackenzie and NADA. Each year over 3.5 million homebuyers miss out on installing solar with their home purchase at the lowest cost of capital available (2.73% 30 year fixed as of 1/28/2021), and an additional 1.7 million homeowners miss out on installing solar when they refinance their 1st mortgage to a lower rate. That’s 5.2 million 1st mortgages closed per year that are not transacted with a new solar installation. This is 13 time larger than the current annual solar market! The solution can be found by: 1) automating the sales process utilizing deep learning techniques with newly collected datasets instead of the less cost effective solar sales staff; 2) using existing real estate transaction professionals to perform site inspections instead of rolling a truck and; 3) financing solar in the new Freddie Mac GreenCHOICE mortgage product at less than 3% fixed without the high-cost points typically associated with solar loans/leases. Additionally, the homebuyer has a window of opportunity to view automated solar proposals during the home shopping experience. They can make a decision to add solar by mortgage application day and have the solar installed after they close escrow and move in. Solar Contractors, Appraisers, Lenders, Insurance Companies, Realtors®, Green Raters, Credit Rating Agencies and most importantly Homeowners can all benefit from an effort that results in a transparent price for the proposed solar installation that can be reliably and efficiently developed throughout the transaction process.