Residential application growth 1996 – 2013, evolving business models and future prospects

Global markets for residential solar installations have experienced significant growth in recent years driven by incentives and business models such as solar leasing in the US, as well as financing options offered by vertically integrated manufacturers. Unfortunately there remains low understanding of the end user experience as it pertains to buying or owning residential PV systems. A better understanding of the end user experience might expedite business model maturity as well uncovering buyer motivation and satisfaction with ownership overtime. The end user research is currently concentrated on a representative sample of US residential system buyers/lessees. Future work will include residential PV system buyers in other countries. This paper will provide an assessment of residential PV application from 1996 through 2013, along with a forecast to 2018and a discussion about emerging business models as well as the potential for using the grid as backup for residential PV systems with storage.