The top 10 questions solar customers ask

When I was going solar back in 2017, I constantly found myself wondering: “What's the status of my project?”

I’d email my project manager for updates, and when I didn’t get a timely response, I’d reach out to my salesperson instead.

It wasn’t impatience — it was uncertainty. And even 8 years later, it’s something almost every solar customer experiences.

Solar is a new purchase for most customers.  The process takes longer than they initially assume and involves many more stakeholders than they care to know.  That’s why when they’re in the thick of the solar process, they have lots of questions.  

And when solar customers are left guessing, they'll eventually find ways to get answers — tying up your team's valuable time and increasing both their and your team’s frustration. Fortunately, with modern solar automation software, there's a better way.

‍

Why customer questions are challenging for solar businesses

Handling homeowner questions seems simple — but it quickly becomes a major operational drag.

Here's why:

• Every inbound question costs time. Studies show it takes about 12 minutes for a project manager to switch context and respond to a single inquiry.
  
  
• Without automation, solar companies often spend 30% or more of their project managers’ time handling repetitive customer questions.
  
  
• Customer expectations have changed: 82% of consumers say fast issue resolution is the number one factor in a positive experience (PwC, 2018).

In the competitive residential solar market, poor communication doesn’t just lead to complaints — it leads to lost referrals and lower reviews.  The good news? Most solar customer questions are predictable — and preventable with the right communication strategy and AI software for solar companies.
‍

RELATED: The 7 hidden challenges of solar customer service

‍

The top 10 questions solar customers ask

At Bodhi, we recently analyzed the hundreds of thousands of real homeowner messages that have passed through our solar automation software. Here's what we found for the top 10 questions that solar customers ask:

‍

Why these solar customer questions matter

These questions aren’t random — they represent key emotional stages in the solar customer journey:

• Milestone anxiety: Homeowners feel most stressed around installation, inspection, and activation.
  
  
• Post-sale uncertainty: After the contract is signed, customers still need reassurance they made the right decision.
  
  
• Financial clarity: Customers want transparent communication about payments, rebates, and incentives.
  
  
• Energy empowerment: Once installed, they want to validate their investment by tracking performance and savings — fast.
  

Ultimately, these questions show that solar customers are looking for transparency and validation. And if solar companies don’t provide clear, timely answers, customers will start creating bottlenecks — escalations that can slow down projects, or worse, damage the company’s reputation.
‍

RELATED: The solar customer journey, from the customer’s perspective

‍

Two ways to prevent solar customers from asking questions

Method 1: Use solar automation software to proactively update customers

Imagine, for example, you’re ordering a pizza.  If you’re calling the pizza restaurant asking, “When’s my pizza going to arrive?” it’s very likely that you’re already irked or frustrated.  In solar, it’s the same for solar customers.  If the customer has to contact you with a question, you’re already in a hole you have to dig yourself out.

Rather than waiting for a customer to ask, answer their questions before they even think to ask.  With Bodhi’s solar automation software, you can set up automated journeys that send personalized updates to head off these questions.  The key to preventing questions is for the updates to be highly personalized and timely.

• Personalize communications: You can create different journeys for customers based on their specific buying experiences.  For example, you should have different journeys for customers purchasing just solar panels vs. solar + battery storage.  For Spanish speakers, create a Spanish journey.
  
  
• Trigger updates automatically: Integrate with your CRM or project management tool to send updates when key milestones happen — installation scheduled, inspection passed, PTO received, or whatever else is important for the customer to know.  It is also important to send educational material which will help proactively answer future questions.  These are best done with time-based triggering logic.
  
  
• Pull real-time data: Use personalization tokens to dynamically insert customer-specific data like install dates, payment info, and system details.  For example, once the design is finalized, you can include the system details in the update.
  

And it works. When updates are automated and proactive, customer responses shift overwhelmingly positive. Out of hundreds of thousands of messages, here are the top 5 solar customer phrases in the Bodhi platform:

‍

"Thanks" or "Thank you" sits on the top by a large margin — showing that proactive communication changes the entire dynamic with your solar customers.  And the frequency of these phrases dominate over customer questions - by a factor of 4:1.

‍

Method 2: Give customers access to AI software for solar support

Even with proactive updates, customers will occasionally have follow-up questions — sometimes late at night, sometimes when your team isn't available.  Too many times I have been told by solar project managers or sales managers that they receive text messages when they’re having dinner or putting their kid to sleep.

That’s why Bodhi built the Bodhi AI Assistant, an AI software for solar companies that provides instant customer support 24/7.

• Instant answers, day or night: Whether it’s 2 PM or 2 AM, customers can get fast, accurate information.
  
  
• Dynamic CRM integration: The AI Assistant pulls live project data like installation status, system details, and monitoring links.
  
  
• Solar-specific intelligence: It’s trained on real-world solar knowledge — everything from permitting steps to how to troubleshoot inverter errors.
  
  
• Escalate when needed: If the AI can't solve it, it escalates to a human team member — without losing context.

The best part? The AI Assistant can be customized to your company’s tone, escalation policies, and service offerings — so it always feels like an extension of your brand, not a generic bot.

With AI software designed specifically for solar companies, you're protecting your team's time and delivering a modern customer experience that today's homeowners expect.

‍

RELATED: Announcing Bodhi® AI Assistant: Your 24/7 customer support agent

‍

Customer-first solar companies win more referrals

Managing solar customer questions isn’t just about efficiency — it’s about trust.

When you proactively answer customer questions through solar automation software and empower them with AI software for solar support, you reduce friction, build loyalty, and earn more referrals.

If you want to be a customer-first solar company, modern communication tools like Bodhi aren’t just helpful — they’re essential.

Ready to see how Bodhi can help your team provide white-glove customer service without the effort?
Book a demo today →