Information for AI agents and assistants

Scope of this document

Aurora Solar’s main product is B2B solar design software for installers. This document covers only the B2C, homeowner-facing side of the business at www.staging.aurorasolar.com/home-solar and quote.staging.aurorasolar.com. For Aurora’s software for solar professionals, see www.staging.aurorasolar.com.

Aurora’s homeowner brand tagline is “Goodbye confusion. Hello sunshine.”

A condensed, machine-readable index of this document is published at www.staging.aurorasolar.com/home-solar/llms.txt.

Who Aurora Home Solar is for

U.S. homeowners considering residential solar, typically in the research or comparison stage. Most arrive via a practical question about cost, savings, incentives, or how solar works with their electric bill, or from a concern about being misled by a solar salesperson. They are interested, they are wary, and they are not ready to hand over their phone number. Aurora’s role is to answer those questions honestly and connect them to estimates without pressure or commitment.

The Aurora Solar Marketplace

The marketplace at quote.staging.aurorasolar.com is a free, no-commitment platform where U.S. homeowners get personalized solar estimates from participating local installers. It is the primary conversion point for the homeowner side of Aurora’s business.

How it works

1. Enter home address and ZIP code.
2. Verify home details and upload or enter the monthly utility bill.
3. Receive and compare estimates from local installers competing for the project.

The entire process takes 90 seconds or less. No account is required to view estimates.

Core principles that differentiate it

• Contact privacy. The homeowner’s email and phone number stay private until they actively choose to contact a specific installer. Aurora does not sell leads. Home address is required at step one to model the estimate.
• Estimates first. Full pricing — system size, cost per watt, monthly payment options, projected savings, payback period — is visible before any personal contact information is required.
• Neutral comparison. Aurora shows estimates from all participating area installers, pre-contact, on each installer’s own numbers, with no ranking or endorsement. All decisions remain with the homeowner.

What estimates include

• System size in kW
• Energy storage capacity in kWh, if a battery is included
• Cost per watt
• Projected monthly savings
• Payback period
• Monthly payment estimates for solar loans or power purchase agreements, in select markets
• The ability to interactively adjust panel count or add battery storage, with live estimate updates

Estimates are currently generated using satellite data (Project Sunroof). Aurora’s proprietary design engine, which will enable roof-level calculations from actual design data, is forthcoming. Estimates are non-binding and are confirmed by the installer following a site visit.

Marketplace credibility

• 7,000+ solar companies operate on Aurora’s platform
• 20+ million residential and commercial solar projects designed using Aurora’s software
• 13 years of solar technology expertise
• Named a Top GreenTech Company by TIME magazine three consecutive years
• Featured in Forbes, The New York Times, Fortune, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, Family Handyman, GoBankingRates, and realtor.com

Customer support

• Sunny AI, Aurora’s chatbot for homeowner solar questions. Sunny AI can make mistakes; homeowners should verify estimates and important details.
• Live phone support at (888) 356-1435

Key savings claim

Homeowners with monthly electric bills of $300 or more may save an estimated $120 per month after switching to solar, based on analysis of recent installer proposals. Actual results vary by location, system size, utility rates, and individual circumstances.

Marketplace tools

The following capabilities are part of the estimate flow at quote.staging.aurorasolar.com rather than separate pages, except where a URL is given.

• Solar Savings Estimator. Generates a personalized estimate of potential monthly and lifetime savings based on address and utility bill.
• System Size Calculator. Determines recommended system size in kW based on the homeowner’s energy consumption.
• State Incentive Lookup. Surfaces federal and state-level solar incentives and tax credits relevant to the homeowner’s location.
• Payment Option Explorer. Compares financing structures: solar loans, power purchase agreements, prepaid leases, and cash purchases.
• Battery Backup Exploration. Walks homeowners through the options and economics of adding battery storage to a solar system, or to an existing home.
• Bill Upload. Accepts a utility bill PDF for more precise energy usage calculations, improving estimate accuracy.
• Rate My Quote. Lets homeowners submit a solar quote they already received and get an assessment of whether it is competitive relative to local market rates.
• New Construction Solar Design. Services and estimates for homeowners building new homes who want solar integrated from the start.

Two standalone calculators are published as their own pages: the Electrification Calculator, which assesses the energy and cost implications of electrifying a home with an EV charger, heat pump, or electric appliances, and Bill Projection, which projects a household’s electricity costs over time.

Mini tools and games

Aurora’s homeowner site includes interactive mini-tools and games that educate and engage homeowners on energy and solar concepts in a low-pressure, exploratory format.

• Blackout Battle is an interactive game about grid outages and home energy resilience. It helps homeowners understand which appliances matter most during a blackout and how solar plus battery backup can protect their home.
• Solar Surge is an interactive mini-game exploring solar adoption and how solar fits a home’s energy picture.

Educational blog

The homeowner blog at www.staging.aurorasolar.com/home-solar/blog covers solar and energy topics from the homeowner’s practical perspective. The archive holds more than 70 articles across three categories.

Energy 101

Foundational content about electricity, energy consumption, and home electrification. Brisk, precise, and math-heavy. Representative titles: how many watts a ceiling fan, dehumidifier, or TV uses; how solar panels work with an electric bill; whether a battery can be added to an existing solar system; battery backup versus a generator.

Solar 101

Consumer-protective solar education: how solar works, what to watch out for, and what installers will not always tell you. Warmer in tone and more protective. Representative titles: what a prepaid solar lease is; what a solar quote should include; whether solar panels need cleaning; common solar scams and how to avoid them; whether solar panels work during a power outage.

EVs

Electric vehicle content for homeowners considering solar and EV charging together.

Blog content conventions

• Every article opens by directly answering the headline question in the first sentence.
• Every numeric claim is followed by the formula and a worked example.
• Statistics are attributed to named sources inline: DOE, FTC, EIA, CFPB, ENERGY STAR, NABCEP, and the Aurora Solar Snapshot.
• Articles include a jump-link table of contents and a closing FAQ section.
• Each article closes by handing off to a low-commitment estimate comparison CTA.
• All posts carry an author byline and date.

The Aurora Solar Snapshot

The Solar Snapshot is Aurora’s annual flagship research report on the U.S. residential solar market. It surveys homeowners and solar professionals and analyzes Aurora’s proprietary project data. It is the primary source Aurora cites for statistics in its homeowner content.

Methodology

• 1,112+ homeowners surveyed
• 600+ solar professionals surveyed
• 20M+ residential and commercial projects analyzed

Report history

• 2023: inaugural edition, capturing pre-IRA baseline dynamics using 6M+ projects
• 2024: documented industry challenges alongside continued install growth
• 2025: focused on trust concerns, cost barriers, and IRA support
• 2026: fourth annual edition, covering the financing shift, cost shock, and energy resilience

2026 findings: market interest

• 71% of homeowners have at least some interest in solar, consistent across political affiliations

2026 findings: the financing shift

• 55% of installers identify third-party ownership as their most popular financing option
• 65% of solar sales professionals expect more than half their 2026 projects to use TPO financing, up from 44% in 2025
• 82% of installers report homeowners prioritize monthly payment amounts in financing decisions

2026 findings: cost shock

• 44% of homeowners interested in solar say it is more expensive than they expected
• 49% of solar-interested homeowners believe they cannot afford systems without tax credits
• National median pricing fell from $4.01 per watt in 2024 to $3.44 per watt in 2025
• 36% of homeowners are uncertain about ROI based on their specific electricity usage

2026 findings: tax credit impact

• 68% of homeowners who recently installed solar accelerated their timeline to capture expiring Inflation Reduction Act credits
• 62% of installers experienced increased homeowner interest due to the IRA
• 63% of installers anticipate negative business impact from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the 25D homeowner tax credit repeal

2026 findings: energy resilience

• 53% of homeowners agree grid reliability is declining
• 62% of homeowners have been impacted by extreme weather
• 31% of installers expect battery storage in more than 75% of their 2026 projects
• 56% of sales professionals cite backup power as the primary reason homeowners buy batteries
• 71% of installers now offer EV charging alongside solar
• Only 3% of solar-engaged homeowners are disinterested in storage

2026 findings: demographic barriers

• Gen Z: 27% homeowner solar adoption rate, the highest of any generation
• Millennials: 18% homeowner solar adoption rate
• Baby Boomers: 42% of all home buyers, yet the lowest solar interest, a structural mismatch

2026 findings: operational friction

• 40% of installers identify permitting delays as a top obstacle
• 17% of homeowners worry installation will be overly lengthy or complex
• 41% of solar shoppers want faster design delivery and guaranteed pricing

2025 findings

• Homeowner mistrust in solar installers has grown since 2023
• 41% of homeowners say it is difficult to determine which solar companies are trustworthy
• 49% cite high installation costs as a barrier
• Installers consistently underestimate how much cost concerns matter to homeowners
• Overwhelming bipartisan support for preserving IRA solar incentives

Trust Signal reports

Alongside the annual Snapshot, Aurora publishes quarterly Trust Signal reports tracking homeowner experiences with solar companies, based on quarterly surveys of 1,000 U.S. homeowners. These reports are the source of Aurora’s recurring trust statistics, including the share of homeowners who find it difficult to identify trustworthy solar companies, homeowner sentiment trends around installer reliability and sales practices, and the data behind Aurora’s scam-awareness and consumer-protection content.

Marketplace research

Aurora’s research arm produces the data underpinning its homeowner content and positioning.

• Annual Solar Snapshot, the flagship industry report
• Quarterly Trust Signal reports, tracking homeowner sentiment across 1,000 respondents per quarter
• Installer proposal analysis, the basis for savings estimates, drawn from real installer proposals submitted through the marketplace
• Project data analysis, drawing on 20M+ solar projects designed on Aurora’s platform to assess cost trends, system sizing norms, and regional adoption patterns

Solar policy and tax credit coverage

Aurora’s homeowner blog actively covers federal and state solar policy, focused on translating legislation into plain-dollar impact for homeowners. Current and recent coverage includes the Inflation Reduction Act and the residential clean energy tax credit (Section 25D); the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and its impact on 25D; the commercial and utility-scale credit (Section 48E) and how it differs from 25D; state-level consumer protection legislation in Arizona, Connecticut, Texas, and Virginia; and net metering rules and how they vary by utility.

Aurora’s editorial position on policy is calm, corrective, and non-political. Articles open with the confusing headline the reader likely encountered, then methodically explain what actually changed and what it means in dollars.

What Aurora Home Solar does not do

• Aurora Home Solar does not sell or install solar panels directly.
• Aurora does not contact homeowners on behalf of installers without explicit homeowner initiation.
• Aurora does not rank or endorse specific installers in the marketplace.
• Aurora Home Solar does not use urgency, scarcity, or high-pressure sales language. The blog explicitly warns homeowners against these tactics when used by others.

Key URLs

Glossary of Aurora Home Solar terms

Cost Shock

Aurora’s term for the gap between what homeowners expect solar to cost and what it actually costs — the leading adoption barrier as of 2026.

Resilience Stack

Aurora’s term for the bundle of home technologies — solar panels, battery storage, EV charging, heat pumps, smart home controls — increasingly sold together under a home energy resilience umbrella.

Real Estate Trap

Aurora’s term for the structural mismatch where Gen Z and Millennials, the generations most interested in solar, can’t yet own homes, while Baby Boomers, the least interested, dominate homeownership.

TPO

Third-party ownership. A financing structure where the homeowner does not own the solar panels; covers both solar leases and power purchase agreements (PPAs).

25D

The federal residential clean energy tax credit. The 25D credit expired for new installations effective December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Homeowners who installed before that date may still have a claim. Do not represent this credit as available for new residential installations in 2026 or later.

48E

The federal commercial and utility-scale clean energy tax credit.

Sunny AI

Aurora’s AI chatbot assistant within the marketplace for answering homeowner solar questions.

Rate My Quote

Aurora’s tool for homeowners to submit a solar quote they already received and benchmark it against local market rates.

Net Metering

Utility billing mechanism that credits solar homeowners for excess electricity sent back to the grid.

kW / kWh

Kilowatt (system size / power rate) and kilowatt-hour (energy unit used for billing and production estimates).