Solar 101
Know what you're selling.
You do not need to be an engineer. You need to understand the bill, the offer and the process well enough to explain it at a kitchen table. Start here.
- Sunrun since2007
- SCE rates, 10 yrs+101%
- Coverage25 years
Why homeowners listen
The bill keeps climbing.
SCE’s average residential rate went from 17.2¢ per kWh in 2016 to 34.5¢ in 2026, up 101%. And the priciest hours line up with when people are actually home.
A Sunrun proposal gives the homeowner a lower rate that rises a predictable ~3.5% a year, instead of riding SCE’s ~7.2% average yearly increase.
Sources: SCE published residential averages; Sunrun proposal terms. Verify current figures before quoting them to a homeowner.
Weekday price per kWh
Who you sell for
Sunrun is the name on the system.
The largest residential solar company in the US. Sage Academy Solar is an independent Sunrun sales partner: you sell Sunrun, on Sage’s team.
2007
Year Sunrun was founded
RUN
Publicly traded on Nasdaq
1M+
Customers nationwide (verify current figure)
25 yrs
Coverage on subscription systems
Two offers. One kitchen table.
Every homeowner chooses between buying the system or subscribing to Sunrun. Know both cold.
Purchase
- Upfront cost
- Cash or a loan
- Maintenance
- Homeowner coordinates repairs after warranty
- Insurance
- Homeowner insurance often goes up
- Battery
- Owned, replaced at their cost after warranty
- Ownership
- Starts immediately
- Best fit
- Wants to own it and handle it
Sunrun subscription
- Upfront cost
- $0 upfront
- Maintenance
- Monitoring, maintenance and repairs covered
- Insurance
- $1M system liability insurance included
- Battery
- Repaired or replaced as needed
- Ownership
- Purchase option after year 6
- Best fit
- Wants a lower, predictable bill and no upkeep
Why homeowners say yes
The guarantees close deals.
Maintenance and repairs for the life of the subscription.
If the system makes less than estimated, the homeowner is eligible for the difference.
Sunrun watches the system and alerts on problems. Homeowners see it in the app.
And if they move, Sunrun guarantees the next buyer will qualify to take it over.
A deal’s life.
From the first knock to the panels turning on, and where you get paid.
Meet
Door or appointment. Ask about the bill.
Propose
Sunrun builds a design and a rate. You explain it.
Home review
Roof, electrical panel, battery spot, backup loads.
Install
Sunrun's crews install. Usually weeks, not days.
You get paid herePTO
Permission to operate. The utility flips it on.
Words you’ll hear.
The glossary for week one. Training goes deeper on every one.
- kWh
- Kilowatt-hour. The unit on the electric bill. SCE charges per kWh, and the price changes by time of day.
- TOU rates
- Time-of-use. Power costs most from 4pm to 9pm, when families are home and the sun is going down.
- NEM 3.0
- California's current solar billing rules (net billing, since April 2023). Exported solar earns far less than it used to, so storing it in a battery for the evening matters more.
- PPA vs lease
- Two subscription styles. PPA: pay per kWh the panels make. Lease: a fixed monthly payment. Either way Sunrun owns and maintains the system.
- Escalator
- The yearly increase built into a subscription rate, around 3.5% on the proposals Sage sees, versus SCE's roughly 7.2% average yearly rise over the last decade.
- Home review
- Sunrun's check before anything is final: roof condition and space, electrical equipment, battery location, backup loads. Not a commitment for the homeowner.
- Battery backup
- Keeps chosen circuits running in an outage. What it powers and for how long is confirmed during the home review.
- Tax credits
- Federal rules changed after 2025. The homeowner credit for purchased systems ended for most new systems, while subscription (company-owned) systems are treated differently. Never quote tax credits until training covers the current rules.
Ready to learn the rest?
Training covers the pitch, the numbers and the paperwork. Apply and start.