Solar and energy marketing
Solar leads:
what each one is really worth.
Solar leads come in three kinds: your own (search, website, referrals), shared leads from quote sites, and bought lists or door knocking. Quote sites typically match each lead with two or three installers, so the real price is cost per signed install, including the sales time on leads that don't sign. Bought leads carry the most risk: the ACMA says buying a list doesn’t transfer responsibility for consent, and the ACCC has recommended bringing lead generation under the unsolicited selling rules.
Written by Dan Picken, a marketer who checks the sources. Last checked 6 November 2026.Three kinds
of solar lead.
Every solar business runs on some mix of these. The mix matters more than the volume, because each kind costs a different amount to turn into an install.
| Source | What you get | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Your own: Google, website, referrals, past customers | Someone who chose to contact you | Costs the most per lead in ads, often the least per install |
| Quote sites (shared) | A buyer who asked for several quotes | You're one of two or three. Speed and a clear quote decide it |
| Bought lists, cold calls, door knocking | Volume | Consent, Do Not Call, contact hours and cooling-off rules, and buyers who didn't ask |
What quote sites
actually sell you.
Read the installer pages, not the consumer ones. SolarQuotes says its referral engine finds a maximum of three installers who match the customer’s location, emails the customer the matched names, and charges for the lead subject to a seven-day return policy. Joining needs an ABN, a contracting licence, at least 12 months in the industry, a five-year installation warranty, an SAA-accredited designer on staff, and systems to follow up every lead within one business day.
A February 2026 comparison listed the main sites as shared with two or three installers, from about $30 to $45 plus GST a lead for residential, with some sites not publishing prices. Prices change, so check the current terms before you sign up.
None of that makes quote sites bad. They send buyers who have already decided to get quotes. But you're paying for a seat at a table with two other installers, and the price on the invoice is the smallest part of it.
Cheap lead,
dear install?
Put in the last three months for each source: what a lead costs, how many sign, and how long each lead takes your sales team. The starting numbers are made up.
Lead worth by source
Cheap lead,
dear install?
A lead's price is the smallest part of what it costs. Enter what each source charges, how often you win, and the sales time each lead takes. The tool shows the cost of each signed install. Every starting number is made up.
Cost of each signed install
| Source | Leads per install | Cost per install | Margin left |
|---|
'Installers who get the same lead' is there as a reminder: if three of you quote, a fair share is one in three, and your sign rate should be compared with that, not with your own leads.
On a shared lead,
speed is the job.
The study most people quote on this is old and American, but the logic hasn't changed. Firms that contacted an online lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as firms that called an hour later, and only 37% of the 2,241 companies tested responded within the hour.
On a shared solar lead, that's the whole game. The first installer to call books the first site visit, and the first site visit sets the price the other two get compared with. A text in the first five minutes that says who you are and when you'll call is the cheapest thing you can do to win more shared leads.
If you're winning fewer than one in three shared leads, look at call-back speed before you look at your price.
Bought lists
and door knocking.
This is where the regulators are looking. The ACCC's July 2026 research named solar among the industries most reliant on unsolicited selling and recommended that lead generation be explicitly covered by the rules, with stronger penalties. If a lead seller's leads came from cold calls, door knocks or vague online competitions, expect that to be scrutinised.
The rules already apply. Numbers on the Do Not Call Register can't be called for telemarketing without consent. Door knocks and phone sales have set hours, a 10 business day cooling-off and no payment or install during it. The solar advertising rules page has the detail.
Before you buy, ask three things in writing: where the lead came from, what the person agreed to, and how many other installers got it. If the seller can't answer the first two, walk away.
The leads
you earn.
Referrals are the cheapest solar leads there are, and most installers leave them to chance. Ask on the day of the install, when the customer is watching the app light up. Make it easy: a card with your name and licence number, and a link to your Google review page.
In NSW, there's a newer source. The Home Energy Saver program has offered zero-interest loans of up to $15,000 since 17 June 2026, delivered through lenders and their approved installers. Brighte lists NETCC accreditation as a mandatory requirement for vendors. Buyers using the loan go through a lender's approved vendors, so if you're eligible and not approved, you're not in the running for those jobs.
And your own search leads compound. A rebate page that stays current, a battery page that answers the sizing question and a Google profile with recent installs keep bringing leads after the ad budget stops. The solar SEO page covers how to build them.
Track every lead
to a signed install.
A source field on every lead, filled in on the first call. A stage for each lead: new, contacted, site visit, quoted, signed, installed. And a monthly count of signed installs by source. That's all the tracking most installers need to stop paying for the wrong leads.
Don't rely on analytics alone. Since October 2026, many ChatGPT clicks reportedly arrive in GA4 with no tag and no referrer, so they look like direct visits. Ask every caller how they found you, and give 'ChatGPT or another AI tool' as an option.
What I see most often
What I'd check first
on a solar installer's leads.
- 1
No source on the lead
Leads in the CRM with no record of where they came from, so quote-site, Google and referral jobs all blur together.
- 2
Shared leads called the next morning
Quote-site leads arriving at 7pm and first called the next day, after the other installers have already booked visits.
- 3
Bought leads with no consent record
Lists from lead sellers with names and numbers but nothing showing what each person agreed to.
The honest bit. No lead source fixes a weak quote. If you're losing most site visits to cheaper or clearer competitors, more leads will only lose you more site visits. Fix the quote and the call-back first. Then buy leads.
Questions
people ask.
Are solar quote sites worth it?
They can be, if you call fast and win your fair share. Most share each lead with two or three installers, so work out the cost per signed install, including sales time, not just the price per lead.
How much does a solar lead cost?
Published residential prices on the main quote sites were about $30 to $45 plus GST a lead in February 2026, for leads shared with other installers. Your own leads from ads cost more per lead but may cost less per install.
Can I buy solar leads legally?
Yes, but the consent risk stays with you. The ACMA says buying a list doesn’t transfer responsibility for consent, and calls must respect the Do Not Call Register. Ask the seller where each lead came from and what the person agreed to.
How fast should I call a solar lead?
Within the hour, and sooner on shared leads. Research reported that firms calling within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify a lead as those calling even an hour later.
How do I get on the NSW Home Energy Saver installer list?
Through the approved lenders. Brighte, one of them, lists NETCC accreditation as mandatory for vendors, plus SAA-accredited designers and installers for solar.
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