Solar and Home Battery Companies Can Submit Referral Programs

TechAmerica.ai is accepting referral program submissions from residential solar installers, solar equipment makers and home battery companies. Companies that pay customers, partners or ambassadors for introducing new homeowners can send their programs to our editors, who will review the official terms and decide whether to explain them to readers.

Residential solar is a high-cost, long-contract purchase, so our standards for this category are stricter than for a gadget. We have no partnerships, sponsorships, affiliate approvals or promotional codes with any solar or battery company, and nothing in our coverage should be read as an offer.

What counts as a home energy referral program

We use the term broadly. Programs in this sector include:

• Customer referral programs run by installers, where an existing customer earns a reward when a neighbor signs a contract and the system is installed
• Manufacturer programs run by panel, inverter or battery brands that sell direct or through certified installers
• Ambassador or brand advocate programs that pay homeowners or community members for multiple qualified leads
• Partner and dealer programs that pay roofers, electricians, real estate agents or other businesses for introductions
• Loyalty programs that reward existing owners for adding a battery, more panels or a second property

Each type carries different rules and risks. Please tell us which one you are submitting.

How the residential solar and storage market works

A homeowner can generally buy a system with cash, finance it with a loan, lease it or sign a power purchase agreement (PPA). The Federal Trade Commission's consumer guidance on solar explains that these choices carry different costs, tax consequences and effects when the home is sold. Under a lease or PPA, the system owner usually keeps tax credits and incentives, while a buyer may qualify for them.

Home batteries are sold alongside new solar systems or added later. Owners use them for backup power during outages and, where utility rates or programs allow, to shift stored energy to times when grid power is more expensive. Some utilities run programs that pay battery owners to share stored energy during periods of high demand.

Who sells, and how

The market includes national installers, regional and local contractors, equipment manufacturers, and online marketplaces that match homeowners with installers. Sales may happen through door-to-door teams, phone sales, websites and retail partnerships. That variety is one reason referral programs here look so different from one company to the next.

Interest in storage has grown as costs fall. Our coverage of battery storage economics looks at the grid-scale side of that shift.

Why installers lean on referrals

Customer acquisition is expensive in residential solar. Every sale involves a site assessment, a design, permits, utility interconnection and installation, and many leads never turn into contracts. A homeowner who already has panels on the roof is the most credible salesperson a company can find, and neighbors can see the system for themselves.

That is why rewards in this sector are often larger than in consumer electronics. It is also why the timing of the reward matters: companies usually pay only after a referred system is installed and switched on, not when a lead is submitted.

Example of a reward tied to activation

As of October 2026, Tesla's support page describing a previous solar referral program, which ran from October 2021 to November 2022, said awards were granted after a referred solar panel or Solar Roof system received Permission to Operate from the utility, and that standalone Powerwall orders did not qualify for that program. The page noted that Tesla's current Refer and Earn program is separate. Trade press reporting by CleanTechnica, updated in April 2024, described Tesla suspending referral benefits as of April 30, 2024. We cite these as a record of how one company structured rewards, not as an offer.

Home batteries raise their own referral questions

Battery storage is often sold as an add-on months or years after panels go up, and that creates a separate set of program issues. A homeowner who refers a neighbor for a battery alone may find the program covers only full solar installations, while a company that sells batteries without solar may run its own scheme with different milestones.

Backup claims need care

Referrers like to describe how a battery kept their lights on during a storm. That is a fair personal account, but how long a battery lasts in an outage depends on its capacity, the circuits it backs up, the home's usage and whether solar can recharge it. Program materials should discourage referrers from implying that a neighbor's home will get the same result.

Utility programs and virtual power plants

Some utilities and grid operators enroll home batteries in programs that draw on stored energy during peak demand, sometimes paying the owner. When a referral pitch mentions those payments, it should be clear who runs the utility program, whether enrollment is optional, and that payments are set by the utility rather than the installer. Our coverage separates the company's referral reward from any utility incentive.

Installation and permitting

Batteries involve electrical work, fire code requirements and, in many places, permits and inspections. The timeline from contract to activation can be long, which affects any reward tied to commissioning. Companies should state whether a battery referral is paid at contract signing, installation or utility approval.

Warranties and replacement

Battery warranties typically cover a period of years and a retained capacity level, with conditions. Readers referred to a battery brand should be pointed to the official warranty document, not a summary in a referral message. If a referral reward or discount changes warranty terms in any way, that must be disclosed.

Existing owners adding storage

Many solar owners who were happy with their installer return to add a battery. Some companies treat that as a loyalty purchase with its own reward, and some let owners refer themselves under a separate label. Either approach is fine if the terms explain it, but a program that bans self-referral and then offers a loyalty credit should make the difference obvious.

The terms that deserve a close read

Because a solar contract can run for decades, a referral reward should never be the reason someone signs. Still, the terms of a program affect both the referrer and the homeowner, and our editors look for answers to the following.

When the reward is earned

Is the reward triggered by a signed contract, by installation, by utility permission to operate or by the end of a cancellation period? Each milestone can be weeks or months apart. A clear program names the exact event.

Which products qualify

Programs may cover only new solar systems, only batteries, or both. Some exclude add-on batteries, system expansions or service plans. Leases and PPAs may be treated differently from purchases.

Who can be referred

Most programs require the referred homeowner to be a new customer at a property not already in the company's system. Some exclude referrals in states or utility territories the company does not serve.

How rewards are paid

Cash, prepaid cards, account credits, bill credits and merchandise points all appear in this sector. Larger cash rewards may carry tax reporting implications for the recipient, and the terms should say whether the company collects tax information.

Limits and expiry

Annual caps on the number of paid referrals are common. Credit-based rewards may expire if unused.

Changes and termination

Solar companies have changed, paused and restarted referral programs many times. Terms usually reserve the right to change or end a program, and a reward promised under one version may not survive the next.

Consumer protection: where referral programs meet sales practices

Federal regulators have focused on solar sales tactics. In an August 2024 business blog post, the FTC warned clean energy companies to be truthful about costs, savings and financing, not to overpromise savings from tax credits or incentives, and noted that "free" or "no cost" solar panel offers are scams. The post also described the FTC's case with California against Ygrene Energy Fund over Property Assessed Clean Energy financing that allegedly left homeowners with liens.

A legal industry summary published in August 2024 described an interagency effort that month involving the FTC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other agencies to police solar sales and financing practices. It also described an earlier FTC action against a solar lead generator over calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry.

What that means for referral programs

• Referrers should not repeat savings or incentive claims they cannot support. If a company provides talking points, those claims must be accurate.
• Programs that reward people for submitting many leads can drift into telemarketing or door-to-door activity. Companies should make sure referral partners follow telemarketing and consent rules.
• Referrers should never present themselves as representing a utility or government program. The FTC's Impersonation Rule applies to false claims of affiliation.
• Financing details belong with the lender's disclosures, not in a friend's text message. A referral page should direct homeowners to official financing terms.

Tax incentive rules for residential clean energy have changed in recent years. Readers should check current eligibility with a tax professional or official government sources rather than relying on a referral pitch.

Disclosure and privacy for solar referrals

Saying you are paid

The FTC's Endorsement Guides say that a material connection, such as a cash reward for a referral, should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously when someone recommends a product. In this category, that includes posts in neighborhood groups, homeowner association newsletters and local social media pages. A clear statement such as "the installer pays me if you sign a contract through my link" leaves no doubt.

Companies should tell referrers and ambassadors how to disclose and monitor what they say, especially when rewards are large enough to motivate aggressive promotion.

Data shared about the referred home

A solar referral can involve more than an email address. Companies may collect a home address, utility bill details, energy usage, roof imagery and credit information as the sale progresses. A good program page explains what is collected at the referral stage, who sees it, whether it is shared with financing partners and how a referred person can opt out of further contact.

What a trustworthy solar referral page tells readers

These are the elements editors look for when deciding whether a program is clear enough to explain:

1. The legal name of the company operating the program and the states or territories it serves
2. The exact milestone that triggers each reward
3. Which ownership models qualify: cash purchase, loan, lease or PPA
4. Whether batteries, expansions and service plans count
5. Payout form, timing, caps and expiry
6. How referrers must disclose their reward
7. A statement that referrers are not employees or agents and may not make savings promises
8. Privacy information for referred homeowners
9. A support contact for referral disputes

Red flags for homeowners

• A friend or ambassador who promises a specific bill reduction or tax refund
• Pressure to sign quickly so the referrer can collect a reward before a deadline
• Claims that a program is affiliated with a utility or government agency when it is not
• Offers of "free" panels in exchange for referrals
• A referral reward offered to the homeowner in place of a clear quote, warranty and contract review

FTC consumer guidance recommends comparing detailed written bids from several companies, checking licenses and complaints, and never dealing with a company that pressures for a quick decision. That advice applies whether a contractor came by referral or not.

How to send your program to TechAmerica.ai

Reach our editors through the contact page. Please include:

• The official program page and full terms on your company's domain
• Program type (customer, ambassador, partner or loyalty)
• Service area by state or utility territory
• Reward milestones, forms, caps and payout timing
• Any rules about lead volume, telemarketing or door-to-door activity by referrers
• Guidance you give referrers about disclosures and approved claims
• A compliance or legal contact for follow-up questions

How review works

An editor compares the program page with the terms, your consumer financing disclosures and your privacy notice. We may ask for clarification, and we may decline to cover programs that rely on savings claims we cannot verify or that reward lead volume without clear safeguards. Submitting a program does not mean we will publish it, and companies cannot review articles before they run.

Keeping our coverage accurate

Please tell us when you pause, change or end a program, or when service areas change. We date every description of a company's program and will update or remove it when the official page changes. If a program is replaced by a new version, send both links so we can explain to readers which rules apply to referrals made before and after the switch, since homeowners in the middle of a long installation may be affected. Broader reporting on clean energy companies appears in our climate section.