Credit: Energy Service Partners
Online solar marketplace EnergySage announced that July saw record participation from homeowners working with installers through its solar marketplace. Notably, EnergySage experienced a 205% year-over-year increase in homeowners actively working with installers and an all-time high in customer inquiries over the past month.
The surge in consumer activity follows the passage of HR1 on July 4, 2025, and its elimination of the residential ITC at the end of 2025.
“It’s clear that homeowners are rushing to take advantage of this tax credit before it goes away,” said Josh Levine, EnergySage chief marketing officer. “The urgency to purchase and install residential solar systems before the end of the year is driving real changes in market behavior, putting pressure on installers and utilities as demand surges and timelines tighten.”
Homeowners have through December 31, 2025, to have their systems installed to claim the 30% federal tax credit, which represents an average of $9,000 in savings on typical installations, according to EnergySage Intel data. At a time when electricity demand and prices are increasing across the country as a result of an aging grid, natural disasters and AI data center growth — with consumption expected to increase 130% by 2030 — residential solar energy is the only practical way for homeowners to take control of their energy consumption and reduce their energy costs.
“Homeowners who had been considering solar are now rushing to install systems amid unexpected timeline changes, creating urgency around meeting the tax credit deadline,” said Maria Kiley, solar advisor at EnergySage. “With the process requiring not just installation, but permitting and utility interconnection, we are helping thousands of homeowners navigate going solar quickly.”
Solar installers are also being impacted by the urgency to go solar. A recent survey conducted by EnergySage found that 35% of solar installers expect to stop taking new customers before October 1, 2025, and around 9% indicated they have already reached capacity for 2025.
Analysts caution that solar industry activity is expected to slow down dramatically in January 2026.
“While this current surge is good for the industry, we anticipate a temporary slowdown in activity once the credit goes away in January,” Levine said. “Even with that expected slowdown, we remain bullish on the long-term value of solar. It offers clear and unmatched economic and grid benefits, especially for homeowners. We expect the market will adjust to policy disruption and start steadily growing again at some point in the second half of 2026.”
News item from EnergySage
