Solar power is contagious. These maps show how it spreads.

Brad Plumer for VOX:  Rooftop solar is expanding rapidly in the United States — by some estimates, a new system goes up every four minutes. There are plenty of reasons for that, from falling prices to generous federal subsidies to innovative leasing schemes.

But there's another, little-discussed factor here: Residential solar power is contagious. Yep, contagious. Studies have found that if you install solar photovoltaic panels on your roof, that increases the odds that your neighbors will install their own panels.

SolarCity, the largest solar installer in the United States, just published some fascinating data on this "contagion" effect. The company has installed 230,000 rooftop systems nationwide (often by allowing customers to lease panels rather than buy them upfront). It says fully one-third of customers were referred by a friend or neighbor.

SolarCity has also made some neat animations showing the "contagion" effect in action.  View here:

Comments (0)

This post does not have any comments. Be the first to leave a comment below.


Post A Comment

You must be logged in before you can post a comment. Login now.

Featured Product

Vecoplan - Planning and implementation of complete processing plants in refuse derived fuel production

Vecoplan - Planning and implementation of complete processing plants in refuse derived fuel production

In order to reduce the costs involved in the energy-intensive production of cement, many manufacturers are turning to refuse-derived fuels (RDF), considerably reducing the proportion of expensive primary fuels they would normally use. Solid fuels are being increasingly used - these might be used tyres, waste wood or mixtures of plastics, paper, composite materials and textiles. Vecoplan provides operators of cement plants with proven and robust components for conveying the material and separating iron and impurities, efficient receiving stations, storage systems and, of course, efficient shredders for an output in various qualities.