How to Find Solar Leads by Roof Fit in 2026

December 31, 2025 ended the old homeowner tax-credit pitch. Under the federal law enacted July 4, 2025, Section 25D stopped allowing new expenditures after that date. Paying in 2025 did not preserve the credit for an installation finished later, according to IRS guidance on the residential credit’s termination.

A sales route built around that pitch needs new qualification rules. Start with a roof that can support the project and an owner willing to share electricity records. An afternoon spent measuring a roof that needs replacement is paid sales time, even when the conversation goes well.

Ground Control by PorchRocket finds properties by roof and location criteria so that review starts before dispatch. Your team uses the match details to choose an opening offer and request the records needed for a survey.

What changed for solar tax credits in 2026?

Section 25D no longer covers new homeowner expenditures, while eligible commercial and third-party-owned solar projects follow separate Section 48E investment-credit or Section 45Y production-credit rules.

As of November 4, 2026, a proposal needs to identify the system owner before assigning any federal credit. A homeowner buying panels with cash or a loan sits in a different tax position from a business that owns an array. A household hosting a leased system is different again.

The controlling changes appear in Public Law 119-21, sections 70506, 70512 and 70513. Use this table to sort the conversation before preparing a financial proposal.

Purchase or project	Rule relevant in November 2026	Date that matters	What the salesperson should establish
Homeowner purchases a new residential system	Section 25D allows no new expenditures after its termination	December 31, 2025	Do not subtract a new homeowner federal credit from a 2026 price
Applicable commercial solar facility begins construction after the statutory start deadline	Sections 48E and 45Y terminate for facilities placed in service after the cutoff	Construction after July 4, 2026; service by December 31, 2027	Confirm the delivery schedule and who documents placed-in-service status
Applicable solar facility has a qualifying earlier construction start	The new solar-specific 2027 cutoff does not apply; continuity and other eligibility requirements remain	Construction on or before July 4, 2026	Get the project-specific construction-start and continuity file reviewed
Residential lease or power purchase agreement	The business system owner’s potential credit is separate from the household’s expired Section 25D credit	Apply the owner’s business-credit rules and project dates	Identify the owner and the proposed contract terms

The construction-start guidance also changed after the 2025 law. IRS Notice 2025-42 restricted the available methods for establishing a start. On June 6, 2026, the federal district court vacated that notice and remanded it to the IRS. Do not copy an old physical-work-only explanation into a November proposal. Have the project’s tax adviser confirm the operative guidance and supporting records.

There is no reason to promise every commercial owner the same percentage. The IRS Section 48E overview gives a 6% base credit, with an increased 30% rate for qualifying facilities under the applicable requirements. Labor rules and exceptions affect that analysis. Investment and production credits cannot both be claimed for the same facility.

Equipment sourcing belongs in that review too. IRS Notice 2026-15 addresses prohibited foreign entities and material-assistance restrictions, including facilities beginning construction after December 31, 2025. Ask the supplier and financing team for the required documentation before presenting the credit as settled.

I would put four fields at the top of the opportunity record: system owner, proposed credit, reviewed eligibility basis and responsible tax adviser. Request the construction-start evidence from the project owner before relying on an earlier start. The sales file should identify the reviewed documents and who accepted them, so the estimator can price the project against a stated eligibility basis.

Who still buys solar after the residential credit ended?

Commercial owners, third-party system owners and households purchasing with cash or financing still deserve separate campaigns, each built around its own electricity economics and approval process.

For commercial solar prospecting, I would begin with owner-occupied industrial buildings and warehouses with substantial open roofs. Ask for the electric bill early. Before booking a warehouse survey, identify who approves roof access and who controls the electricity account. An operations manager can explain the load and arrange introductions; get the landlord involved before assigning design work.

Pull the interval data before valuing demand-charge savings. A large demand charge tells you where to investigate; the timing of the peak tells you whether the proposed array can reduce it under that tariff. Berkeley Lab’s research on commercial solar and demand charges ties potential savings to the tariff and the timing of customer demand relative to generation. A monthly peak outside solar production hours can change the result. Evaluate storage separately if the load supports it.

Third-party ownership starts another discussion. The DOE homeowner guide distinguishes owning panels from hosting equipment through a lease or power purchase agreement. The household needs to understand the payment schedule and its obligations. The potential business credit belongs in the provider’s analysis; it is not a personal tax refund you can promise the resident.

Cash buyers and financed homeowners need a comparison that works without a new Section 25D credit. Ask how long they expect to hold the property and what they pay for electricity. Have them compare the cash price with total financed payments. Show the production assumptions and export compensation used in the estimate. Avoid a proposal that needs an unexplained future rate increase to look attractive.

I would also keep a separate campaign for owners planning a roof replacement. That conversation has a defined construction decision already attached. Ask when the roof scope will be approved and whether the solar designer can review attachments before the roofer orders materials.

Treat these groups as different queues. A warehouse owner asking for a capital budget belongs with a commercial estimator. A homeowner exploring payments belongs with someone who can explain both purchase and hosting options. Record the buyer’s next decision before scheduling another meeting.

Roof age before solar comes first

I would send a 15-year-old roof for a roofer’s condition review before booking a solar survey, especially when replacement could interrupt the proposed system’s service life.

The South Carolina Energy Office’s roof guidance advises considering replacement when a roof is more than 15 years old and describes a solar-system horizon of about 25 to 30 years. Replacing the roof later requires removing the solar equipment. Those two schedules belong on the same worksheet.

Use 15 years as a screening flag, then let the roofer’s condition review and remaining-service-life assessment determine the sequence. Ask which roof sections need work before the array goes on and whether the proposed attachment method changes the replacement scope.

Use three routing decisions on the sales sheet: solar review now, coordinated roof-and-solar review, or hold pending roof information. The second queue should have a named roofing contact and an agreed next action. Otherwise, old roofs linger in the pipeline as though another follow-up call will repair them.

For a roof-and-solar opportunity, have the roofer document the existing system and proposed replacement scope. The solar designer should specify the attachment approach. Settle penetrations and warranty responsibility in writing before either crew orders materials, and give the owner both scopes to approve.

Settle repeat-visit charges too. If the roof scope changes after the solar designer has worked up attachments, the owner should be able to see which work must be revised and who pays for it, including any later removal-and-reinstallation scope requested for comparison. Put the access arrangement in the job file.

You can qualify the conversation by asking for the roof installation year and supporting records. Invoices and warranty documents give the roofer something to review. The roof-age data guide explains how to distinguish a screening age band from documentation the installer can rely on.

I would give a younger roof priority when the condition review supports it, but keep a planned re-roof in active prospecting. A funded replacement with an owner ready to coordinate can deserve attention ahead of an apparently newer roof whose owner will not discuss the electric account.

Finding homes without solar panels near you

Select homes with no visible solar and roofs under 10 years old, then review nearby trees and home size within a territory your crew can serve economically.

Ground Control’s residential solar search includes solar or no solar alongside roof-age and material filters. Home size and trees over or beside the roof are available too. For the first campaign, I would select a compact service area with the no-solar filter and younger-roof band, then have the sales manager review the criteria before the team starts planning a route or writing an offer for those homes.

Home size is a sorting field. Do not convert it directly into panel count or annual consumption. Confirm the roof planes through design work and ask the owner for electricity usage. A house with a large floor area does not give you permission to assume a large electricity bill.

Tree observations need the same discipline. Visible trees help decide which properties deserve a closer look. A no-tree-over-roof criterion does not establish that an array will be unshaded throughout the year. The DOE guide identifies roof age and tree cover as suitability factors, alongside roof shape and slope. Have the designer evaluate the site’s exposure.

I would keep two files: homes ready for an initial solar conversation and homes worth approaching with a roofing partner. Use the first file for younger roofs. Use the second only where your team can offer a defined roof review and explain how both scopes would be priced.

Keep the geography tight. Define the area using the cities or ZIP codes your team serves, then check whether the route permits a second visit to an interested owner without another long drive, including any detours between subdivisions and arrangements needed for gated roads. Count that return trip in the campaign budget.

Add owner research when the address needs an ownership check, then record the resident’s response separately from the property match. Track roof-fit errors in their own field. Track objections such as financing cost or a planned move in the conversation record, where the sales manager can act on them.

Before enlarging the order, review the first conversations for a recurring obstacle. If roof work dominates, change the offer or campaign. If suitable owners decline because of payment terms, examine the proposal. Buying more addresses will not answer that objection.

Commercial solar prospecting starts with usable roof area

Start with 25,000+ square foot warehouses or industrial buildings, select membrane or metal roofs, and review visible rooftop features before asking the owner for electricity records.

The Ground Control commercial search lets you combine business type with building-size bands and roof material. Rooftop HVAC and skylights are among the visible features available for screening. A larger building with many roof interruptions should enter a different review queue from an open-roof warehouse.

For a commercial list requiring no installed solar, use the Bigger teams & custom requests option and confirm the scope before ordering. Put the exclusion in writing. Ask how the final records will show the match so your salesperson can distinguish the custom requirement from the standard commercial criteria when reviewing the file and deciding which roof deserves the first call.

Building size does not equal usable panel area. During qualification, get the roof plan or arrange an authorized measurement. The designer needs room for access paths and equipment service before settling the array layout. Aerial selection puts candidates on the worksheet; it does not determine the permitted layout.

I would sort the commercial records by roof-review path. A documented recent roof can proceed to solar design review. An older roof with a planned replacement should go to the roofer and solar designer together. Unknown roof history gets a records request before technical dispatch.

Then establish control of the property and electricity account. With a leased industrial building, I would ask the tenant to identify the landlord’s approval contact before spending technical time, and ask the landlord which party can commit to the proposed electricity arrangement if the tenant’s lease ends before the solar agreement does. Get that conversation on the calendar.

Owner information and commercial decision-maker research are Ground Control add-ons. Use them to reach the approval path, then confirm the current roles in conversation. I would begin with one building and one responsible contact, even when the owner controls several properties. Earn access to the next roof after the first review produces a decision.

Define the service territory for a portfolio request, then specify the building groups and roof features worth reviewing. Ask for a custom scope when the campaign spans several markets or needs an exclusion outside the standard selectors. The aerial-imagery prospecting guide explains how to carry image observations into an outbound sales process.

A solar roof fit checklist for the first call

Use six qualification checks to decide whether a solar prospect deserves technical time, and hold the appointment whenever roof responsibility or site access remains unresolved.

I would use the following sheet for both home and commercial records. The first column starts the review. The last column determines what happens next. No property gets a survey merely because its score looks good.

Check	Initial evidence	Confirm with the owner or project team	Routing decision
Existing solar	Visible array or no-array observation	Equipment already installed, under contract or planned	Exclude from a new-system campaign when the scope does not fit
Roof timing	Requested age band and material	Roof records, condition review and replacement plans	Solar review or coordinated re-roof review
Open roof	Building or home size and visible interruptions	Measured layout and required access	Designer accepts a layout review or explains the obstacle
Shade	Trees over or beside the roof	Site-specific shade assessment	Continue, redesign or stop
Authority	Property and optional owner research	Permission for access and agreement authority	Hold until the responsible party participates
Electricity economics	No assumption from the image	Current tariff, usage records and proposed ownership	Prepare a financial review only after obtaining the inputs

For internal prioritization, give two points when a check has supporting evidence, one when it needs a defined follow-up and zero when the fit fails. A score of 10 out of 12 can justify scheduling discussion if no check fails. This is an internal sales score I recommend. Roof-access authority remains a separate requirement even when the total reaches 10.

Require a named person and date for every one-point item. If roof invoices are due Tuesday, assign someone to review them before confirming Thursday’s survey. Route the job to the roofing partner if those invoices reveal a replacement that needs coordination.

Keep the checklist in the customer record through handoff. The installer should see what was confirmed and what still needs examination. A salesperson’s shade observation must not arrive as an approved shade study. Preserve the evidence and identify who is responsible for the next check.

What belongs in solar customer acquisition cost?

Divide all sales and marketing spending for a defined group of solar prospects by the funded installations that group produces, including spending on prospects that never buy.

That is the number I would use to compare a fit list with broad canvassing. The price of an address is only one line. Include the salesperson’s paid time and the estimator’s failed visits. Count the cash spent on outreach and any outsourced appointment work.

NREL’s 2025 report, Documenting 15 Years of Reductions in U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System Costs, identifies customer acquisition as part of solar’s soft-cost problem. Use that cost category to track the work between selecting an address and funding an installation.

Follow a defined group, such as all prospects first worked during one month, through installation and funding. Compare campaigns at the same stage. A recent batch of signed contracts still waiting for surveys or financing can look cheaper because its cancellations and remaining sales work have not appeared yet.

Use the same counting rule for every channel. Include closer commissions on paid appointments and assign a cost to the owner’s selling time, including proposal work after dinner. Keep installation labor and materials in job costs.

I would track cost per qualified survey as an earlier signal, then wait for funded-installation cost before declaring a channel profitable. Record why opportunities stop. Roof replacement calls for a different follow-up from a financing rejection, while an owner with no buying interest belongs out of the active appointment queue.

Keep campaigns with no funded jobs in the report. Record their spending and zero installations; cost per funded job is undefined for that group, rather than zero. When calculating the total across channels, include those expenses in the numerator. Use the contractor customer-acquisition cost worksheet to define the expenses before comparing campaign reports.

A 120-hour test of roof-first prospecting

In this illustration, the same 120 paid sales hours produce two funded installations from broad prospecting and three from a roof-fit list, at acquisition costs of $3,027 and $2,138.

A residential installer works a 300-address campaign around Fort Worth. Compare a broad address file assembled from public records with 300 homes selected for roof fit, using the following cost and conversion assumptions.

Assume both campaigns receive 120 hours from a salaried salesperson costing $43 per paid hour, including employer costs but no additional commission, and budget a separate $894 in cash expenses that exclude the salesperson’s time already counted in those hours. That cash budget comprises $484 for outreach and compliance administration, $193 for travel and $217 for outsourced appointment administration.

For the fit file, budget at Ground Control’s published upper home price of $1.20: 300 times $1.20 equals $360. The broad public-record file has no purchase charge; its assembly and review use paid hours. Neither case buys owner-contact add-ons. Use the checkout price and add any research charges when building your budget.

Campaign input or outcome	Broad address file	Roof-fit file
Addresses worked	300	300
Property assembly and review	44 hours	14 hours
Outreach and follow-up	46 hours	61 hours
Visits and proposal work	30 hours	45 hours
Total paid sales time	120 hours	120 hours
Sales labor at $43 per hour	$5,160	$5,160
Property-file purchase	$0	$360
Outreach, travel and outsourced administration	$484 + $193 + $217 = $894	$484 + $193 + $217 = $894
Total acquisition spending	$6,054	$6,414
Qualified proposals produced	12	18
Funded installations after cancellations	2	3
Acquisition cost per funded installation	$6,054 / 2 = $3,027	$6,414 / 3 = $2,138

The proposed improvement is modest at the address level: two funded installations out of 300 versus three out of 300. Both cases assume one funded installation for every six qualified proposals. The fit file earns its added purchase cost only if the saved research time supports more productive conversations and proposals.

Follow the hours. Reducing property assembly and review from 44 hours to 14 frees 30 hours. In this plan, 15 go to outreach and 15 to visits and proposal work. A sales manager should check those reallocations on the calendar. Saved time that disappears into unrelated work will not produce the third installation.

A wasted visit has a price within that budget. At the assumed $43 hourly cost, a 75-minute failed trip consumes 1.25 times $43, or $53.75 in labor before vehicle expense. Avoiding four such trips releases five hours and $215 of paid capacity. That labor is already in the table; do not add it again as another saving.

Now test the margin. Assume each funded installation sells for $23,750 and has $19,160 in direct job costs, including the installation scope and a warranty reserve. The contribution before acquisition is $23,750 minus $19,160, or $4,590 per job.

Under those assumptions, the broad campaign leaves two times $4,590 minus $6,054, or $3,126, before general company overhead. The fit campaign leaves three times $4,590 minus $6,414, or $7,356. That difference depends on the third funded job. If both campaigns produce two, the fit file leaves $360 less.

Review both outcomes before expanding the territory. If research hours fall but qualified proposals stay flat, examine the outreach offer and the follow-up schedule. If proposals rise but funded installations stay flat, review financing failures and cancellations. Buy the next area after the campaign report identifies where the additional paid work came from.

The ten-year value of one signed solar account

A commercial solar account can justify more acquisition work than a small residential job, but value the approved installation and retained service margin using stated costs and renewal assumptions.

Consider a separate illustration: an owner-occupied 42,000 square foot warehouse with an approved roof and solar scope, an assumed installation contract of $217,400 and direct job costs of $186,965, leaving $30,435 before acquisition spending and general overhead. The installation estimate and optional service contract are separate lines in the account budget.

Suppose the owner also accepts an optional annual service agreement at $1,860, costing $1,185 to deliver. Annual contribution is $675. Specify the service tasks and exclusions in the agreement; do not assume future replacement equipment is covered by that allowance.

For ten service years, assume the first year is sold and each following renewal has an 80% retention probability. Expected paid years are 1 + 0.8 + 0.8 squared, continuing through 0.8 to the ninth power. The sum is 4.463129088 expected paid years. Multiply the unrounded sum by $1,860 for $8,301.42 in expected service revenue, or by $675 for $3,012.61 in expected service contribution, rounded to cents.

The combined installation and expected service contribution is $30,435 plus $3,012.61, or $33,447.61 before acquisition and overhead. This simple model does not discount future cash flows or raise prices. It also excludes unsigned portfolio work. Keep those exclusions visible when deciding how much estimator time the account deserves.

I would still require an acquisition budget for that warehouse. A valuable installation can absorb expensive prospecting, but it can also hide it. Record the owner research and engineering review that fail to produce a contract, then allocate the campaign’s cost across the work that reaches funding.

Treat a second building as a new decision. Ask about it after the first account review, and enter its roof and electricity records separately. Reuse confirmed ownership contacts, then budget a separate qualification review for each additional roof.

What the solar site visit must settle

An authorized solar survey must resolve shade, roof condition, structural support and electrical connection before a selected address becomes an installation-ready project.

Start with the roof information the salesperson collected. Verify that the surveyed roof section matches the record and confirm changes since the image date. Obtain the owner’s permission and follow the site’s access process. A salesperson’s appointment should not imply permission to open equipment or step onto a roof without arrangements.

Have the designer assess shading across the relevant seasons. The South Carolina Energy Office explains that nearby objects and the changing sun path affect shade. An aerial image captures one view. Review the intended module locations against the site’s exposure rather than accepting an empty-looking roof as a shade study.

Map the interruptions that affect the layout. Record skylights and roof drains, along with equipment service areas. Confirm the access paths and setbacks required by the jurisdiction for that project. Do not subtract a standard percentage from the whole roof and call the remainder a permitted array.

Structural review needs its own evidence. As one local example, Portland’s solar structural requirements address panel and ballast weight alongside environmental loads. Ask the responsible designer to evaluate the building’s framing and the proposed array, then obtain the approval required for that jurisdiction.

The electrical review should identify the proposed connection and any work needed to support it. Assign someone to manage the utility’s interconnection application and track its required approvals. Put those milestones into the installation schedule before offering a crew date, and review outstanding utility responses at handoff.

Financial modeling then needs current usage and tariff inputs, with demand savings handled separately from energy savings. Preserve the production assumptions in the proposal. If a business expects new equipment or different operating hours, document the proposed change instead of treating the old bill as a permanent load profile.

I would end the survey with a written disposition: proceed to a priced design, coordinate roof work, or stop for a stated reason. Give the owner the unresolved items and identify who supplies each answer. The next appointment should have a decision attached.

Letters, door knocks and calls for solar in 2026

I would test an addressed letter for selected homeowners and researched business calls for commercial accounts, using door knocks only where the route and local requirements support them.

A letter can explain why you selected the property without interrupting the resident. Keep it short. Offer a roof-and-bill review, describe what the owner would need to provide and give a clear way to respond. Do not put a federal homeowner credit into the headline of a new 2026 offer.

Sample residential letter: Your property fits the roof criteria for our solar review. We start with the roof installation year and electricity use, then check whether roof work should happen before panels go on. Reply if you would like a roof-and-bill review. We will explain the records needed and how to send them through our intake process.

Explain why the property met your initial selection criteria. Describe a proposed review honestly. When a homeowner responds, confirm ownership and ask who else needs to participate in the decision before scheduling a visit, especially if the person who handles the electricity account will otherwise be unavailable when the salesperson arrives to discuss the proposal.

Door knocks need a route your team has checked and a solicitation process reviewed for the location. Verify permit requirements and permitted hours before dispatch. Respect posted restrictions. I would ask permission to explain the offer, then leave when the resident declines. Count the canvasser’s travel and unanswered doors in acquisition spending.

For a commercial call, start with responsibility: Who handles roof capital planning and the electric account for this building? After reaching that person, explain the proposed review and request the minimum records needed. Avoid opening with a savings percentage before seeing the tariff.

The compliance work comes before loading a dialer. Under FCC rules in 47 CFR 64.1200, telemarketing calls or texts using an autodialer to wireless numbers generally require prior express written consent. Artificial or prerecorded telemarketing voice calls to wireless numbers or residential lines generally require prior express written consent too. A purchased property file supplies no such permission.

Residential do-not-call restrictions also apply to live sales calls. Use current registry screening and your own suppression records, and train callers to record requests to stop. Review the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule guide for consumer call disclosures and restrictions. Have the proposed process checked against applicable state rules, including how it handles business owners’ mobile numbers. Keep the approved process with the campaign records.

I would make unsolicited texting unavailable as a campaign default. Enable it only after the contact and proposed process meet the relevant requirements. Keep consent evidence with the number, including what was agreed to and when. Honor withdrawal requests and remove suppressed numbers from future campaign exports.

Run letters and permitted calling as separate tests. Record response cost and qualified-survey cost for each. A mailed response that supplies the roof year and bill is different from a door conversation with no decision maker present. Carry both records through to funded installation before comparing the final acquisition cost.

Public solar RFPs belong in a separate pipeline

Bid Control by PorchRocket gives solar contractors a separate way to find city, county and school opportunities through the public purchasing process. Use Bid Control for public solar RFPs while Ground Control supports private-property prospecting. Read each buyer’s qualification requirements and site-visit instructions before assigning an estimator. Track the stated deadlines and addenda. For paperwork support, Bid Team works with you on forms and submission preparation; you make the final call on your number, sign and send. Keep that work on a separate calendar from private owner outreach.

The fastest way to find roofs that fit solar

Ground Control by PorchRocket delivers a solar prospect list by matching roof criteria across your chosen area, ready for your team to start outreach. Home filters include no solar, roofs under 10 years old, home size and nearby trees. Commercial filters include building size, business type and roof material; request no installed solar through custom review. Prices are $0.72 to $1.20 per home or $10 to $20 per building. Delivery is within 48 hours after payment, often sooner. Every record explains why it matched. A wrong property match receives a credit back within 30 days. These owners have not requested quotes.

Building a solar list in Ground Control

Use Ground Control to order one solar campaign with explicit roof criteria and a manageable territory, then review its funded installations before expanding the purchase.

I would start with one buyer group. For residential, that means a no-solar search with the younger-roof band and a review of nearby trees. For commercial, choose the building groups and size bands your estimator can handle. Route a no-installed-solar exclusion through the custom request process before paying for that commercial scope.

The order and delivered file should give the team six things to work with:

• A defined service area tied to the campaign, so the salesperson can plan revisits within the territory you selected.
• Residential roof and home filters, or commercial building-type, size and roof-material criteria that match the proposed work.
• A reason each property matched, which the salesperson can carry into the qualification worksheet.
• Owner information when ordered, plus commercial decision-maker research as an optional add-on, with contacts charged only when found.
• CSV and Excel delivery for loading the prospect records into your sales process, with the match evidence kept beside the address.
• Delivery within 48 hours after payment and credit back for a wrong match reported within 30 days.

Ground Control uses aerial photos no older than two years when the order runs, alongside property records and other stated sources. It sends only properties it is 90%+ sure match. Confirm present conditions during qualification and record changes the owner reports before dispatch.

Commercial orders start at 10 buildings. Home records cost $0.72 to $1.20 each; commercial records cost $10 to $20 each, with lower per-property prices for larger orders. Owner and decision-maker research are separate add-ons. Exact pricing appears before payment, and a free account requires no card to start.

In Ground Control, pick the area and criteria before reviewing the price. Assign the delivered file to a salesperson and record the next action for each interested owner. Charge prospecting time to the campaign so the funded-job report shows what the first order earned.

Order the roofs your crew can serve, and put the first owner conversations on the calendar.