Finance
Trends in residential solar finance, equipment and maintenance
Solar informational site SolarReviews released its annual survey, sharing results gathered from a group mostly represented by residential solar installers, as well as commercial installers, equipment providers, and utility-scale installers. SolarReviews operates a Solar Calculator that enables prospective customers to have a snapshot of the benefits of adding solar to their roof based on customized data for their area.
Finance
With higher financing costs industry-wide, 54% of U.S. installers said customers were less likely to take a solar loan over the past year, while cash deals are up. About 49% of sales reported were cash deals, while 41% were loans. HELOC, PACE loans, power purchase agreements, and leases combined for 10% of reported solar sales.
The top financing providers used were Credithuman (15%), Mosaic (14%), Sunlight Financial (9%),Dividend (8%), and Clean Energy Credit Union (8%).
Typical loans for loaned systems varied widely depending on whether dealer fees were assigned. Average terms are seen below.
Heightened cost of finance has pressed the residential solar industry. About half (49%) of installers said demand went down in 2023 versus 2022.
In California, where rates paid for exporting solar production to the grid were slashed by about 80%, about 69% of installers reported lower sales in California in 2023 versus 2022. However, 68% of installers reported including battery energy storage with their solar installation, about double the national average. Installers report a median payback period of eight years for solar systems with a battery, while standalone solar systems have a longer median payback period of about 10 years.
California was not the only state to cut rates for solar exports, a process known as net metering. Georgia, Arizona, Kansas, Arkansas, and Wisconsin all noted an increase in installed systems not tied to a net metering agreement.
Top products
As for the top equipment brands in residential solar, SolarReviews surveyed installers based on five criteria of performance and quality, brand name reputation, product warranty, pricing, and product availability from distributors. Based on the five criteria, SolarReviews listed Qcells as the top performing panel brand.
Installers said the top five most-used panels were Qcells (53%), REC (41%), Canadian Solar (35%), Mission Solar (29%), and JinkoSolar (20%). About 19% of solar installers offer one panel brand, while the majority provide alternative options to meet the needs of their customers.
For inverters, the top five most-used were Enphase (62%), SolarEdge (43%), SMA (23%), Sol-Ark (21%), and Tesla (21%). Tesla made a notable leap up into the top five, gaining a larger market share than Fronius and Generac.
Enphase was also listed as the most commonly used battery energy storage provider, offered by 46% of installers. This was followed by Tesla (42%), SolarEdge (35%), FranklinWH (29%), and Fortress Power (18%). A sizeable market share was also held by SunPower, Generac, LG Energy Solution, and HomeGrid.
Maintenance
Given that solar is often a 25-year investment, post-installation services are a critical feature in a solar agreement. About 96% of installers have access to system monitoring, while 63% said they proactively check their customers’ installations at least once per quarter to ensure they are working.
The most common reasons for service, in order, were inverter hardware failures and replacement, inverter software and setup issues, battery software updates, communications and monitoring fixes, roof leaks, battery hardware failure or replacement, wiring issues, and broken or underperforming panels.
“Fortunately, when issues do occur, they are often covered by some type of warranty, leaving only 15% of cases where the customer is responsible for repair costs,” said SolarReviews.
Outlook
The residential solar industry looks to recover from a rocky 2023, where growth was slowed by high finance costs and unfavorable policy changes like the reduction of net metering rates.
“Some solar businesses are still reeling from the events of 2023. 22% of solar businesses say they have concerns that make them unsure whether they can stay in business in the coming six months,” said SolarReviews.
Despite this uncertainty, residential solar installers appear to have a good outlook for 2024. About 54% of surveyed installers said they expect to sell more solar in 2024, and an additional 23% said they think they will be able to maintain the same level of business next year.
Notably, surveyed installers listed pv magazine as the top trusted media platform for solar news and analysis, with 52% responding we are the preferred source. The marks the second year in a row as the most-trusted media source. We thank you for your continued readership.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Texas restaurant operators are continuing to face mounting financial pressure as rising food and fuel costs impact businesses across the state, according to the latest quarterly economic report from the Texas Restaurant Association.
The association’s 2026 first-quarter report shows that many restaurant owners are struggling to keep up with increased operating expenses while trying to avoid passing those full costs on to customers.
“You know, what we’re seeing a lot of in Texas from these quarterly economic reports that we do is that food costs continue to rise,” said Texas Restaurant Association Chief Marketing Officer Tony Abroscato. “We all know that it’s up 35% since the pandemic. And so that’s an impact on our restaurant.”
According to the report, 77% of restaurant operators reported increased costs of goods, while 66% said suppliers have added fuel surcharges as gas prices continue to climb.
“We’re seeing that 90% of consumers start to adjust their habits based upon rising gas prices,” said Tony Abroscato. “Then also those gas prices impact the cost of food because everything is trucked and shipped and a variety of different things.”
In addition to rising costs, labor shortages remain a major concern for restaurant owners. More than half of association members reported difficulties finding enough workers.
“You know, immigration is difficult and has had an impact on the restaurant industry, the farming industry, which again, then raises prices along the way,” said Abroscato.
Despite the financial challenges, the Texas Restaurant Association’s 2026 first-quarter report shows that Texas restaurants are only passing a portion of those increased costs on to customers while absorbing the rest through reduced profits.
Some restaurant owners have been making changes to adjust, like limiting menu items or even turning to QR code ordering, Abroscato said.
Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.
Finance
Household savings, income and finances in Spain: how did they fare in 2025 and what can we expect for 2026?
In 2025, GDI grew above the rate of average annual inflation (2.7%) and the growth in the number of households (1.3% according to the LFS), which allowed for a recovery in purchasing power. In this context, real household income has grown by 4.5% since before the pandemic, highlighting that households have continued to gain purchasing power in real terms.
The strong financial position of households is reflected not only in the high savings rate but also in their financial accounts. In this regard, households’ financial wealth continued to increase in 2025: their financial assets amounted to 3.4 trillion euros at the end of the year, versus 3.1 trillion at the end of 2024. This increase of 292 billion euros is broken down into a net acquisition of financial assets amounting to 95 billion, higher than the 21.5-billion average in the period 2015-2019, when interest rates were very low, and a revaluation effect of 194 billion. When breaking down the net acquisition of assets, we note that households invested 42 billion euros in equities and investment funds, just under 9.6 billion less than in deposits, while they disposed of debt securities worth 6 billion following the fall in interest rates.
On the other hand, households continued to deleverage in 2025, and by the end of the year their financial liabilities stood at 46.9% of GDP, compared to 47.8% in 2024, the lowest level since the end of 1998. This decline reflects the fact that, in 2025, households took advantage of the interest rate drop to prudently incur debt: net new borrowing amounted to 35 billion euros, representing an increase of 3.8%, which is lower than the nominal GDP growth of 5.8% and the GDI growth of 5.3%.
As a result of the increase in financial assets and the decrease in liabilities as a percentage of GDP, the net financial wealth of households recorded a notable increase of 7.3 points compared to 2024, reaching 156.8% of GDP.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Mayor Jerry Dyer has unveiled his 2026- 2027 budget proposal at Fresno’s City Hall.
The overall budget total is $2.55 billion, with a majority of the funding going to public works, utilities, police and FAX.
The mayor also highlighted several investments, including a 10-year tree trimming cycle, the Homeless Assistance Response Team and an America 250 celebration.
Dyer says that despite some challenging circumstances, the City of Fresno’s long-term financial condition remains healthy.
“We’re pleased to say that based on increasing revenues and sound financial management, as well as a very healthy reserve, the city of Fresno has a strong financial outlook,” he said.
Dyer’s office says the budget is a comprehensive financial plan that reflects the city’s ongoing commitment to the “One Fresno” vision.
Copyright © 2026 KFSN-TV. All Rights Reserved.
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