Solar leads are homeowner enquiries for a solar panel or battery storage quote. In the UK they cost from £25 per lead when bought exclusively and in real time, less when shared between several installers, and installers should judge a provider on how the lead was generated, whether it is sold once or several times, and how fast it is delivered. This guide covers where solar leads come from, what a genuine one should contain, what drives the price, and how to check quality in your first two weeks.
What a solar lead actually is
A solar lead is a homeowner who has filled in a form or answered a call asking for a solar quote. It is not a phone number bought from a list, and it is not a homeowner who was cold-called. A proper solar lead has been asked qualifying questions - roof type, property ownership, current electricity spend, interest in battery storage - before it is passed to an installer. The answers to those questions are what let you prioritise which enquiries to call first.
Where solar leads come from
- Own comparison websites, Google Ads, paid social and directories or shared marketplaces are the four places a solar lead can come from.
- What the homeowner was asked before the enquiry was submitted is what decides its quality.
- That enquiry is the lead you buy.
Most UK solar leads come from one of four sources:
- Own comparison websites, where a homeowner compares solar quotes and gives their details to be matched with installers.
- Google Ads, where the homeowner searches for something like "solar panel quotes near me" and lands on a form.
- Paid social, where a Facebook, Instagram or TikTok ad prompts the homeowner to request a quote.
- Directories and marketplaces, such as Checkatrade-style listings or shared lead exchanges, where multiple installers can buy access to the same enquiry.
The first three, run well, produce a homeowner who has actively asked for a quote in the last few minutes. The fourth can range from genuine directory enquiries to leads that have been resold several times before you see them.
Exclusive versus shared solar leads
This is the single biggest driver of how well a solar lead converts.
An exclusive lead is sold once, to one installer. You are the only company calling, so the homeowner has not already had three other sales calls before yours. A shared lead is sold to several installers at the same time, which pushes the price down but means you are racing other companies to the phone, and the homeowner often takes the call from whoever rings first rather than whoever offers the best deal.
If your close rate on bought leads has been low, the first thing to check is whether the leads were exclusive or shared. A cheaper shared lead that converts at a third of the rate of an exclusive one is not actually cheaper.
Real time versus aged leads
A real time lead reaches you within seconds or minutes of the homeowner submitting the form. An aged lead is days, weeks or sometimes months old, sold cheaply in bulk to businesses doing volume outbound calling.
Speed matters because solar is a considered purchase with several installers competing for the same homeowner. A lead called within five minutes of submission converts at a noticeably higher rate than one called the next day, because the homeowner is still in the mindset of researching quotes. An aged lead has usually already bought, chosen someone else, or lost interest entirely.
What a genuine solar lead should contain
Before you buy, agree what fields come with every lead. At a minimum that should be:
- Full name and a valid, checked UK phone number
- Property postcode
- Roof type and orientation, or at least a self-reported estimate
- Property ownership status (owner-occupier versus tenant)
- Current or estimated electricity spend
- Interest in battery storage as well as panels
- The source and timestamp of the enquiry, and confirmation of consent to be contacted
A lead missing most of these fields is closer to a name and number than a qualified enquiry.
What solar leads cost and why prices vary
Solar leads in the UK start from around £25 per lead when bought exclusively and in real time. Price moves with:
- Exclusivity: exclusive leads cost more than shared ones, because they convert at a higher rate.
- Volume: providers typically price down as weekly volume goes up.
- Area: leads in high-demand postcodes or areas with strong solar uptake tend to cost more.
- Qualifying criteria: tighter criteria, such as homeowners only or a minimum bill spend, cost more to generate because fewer enquiries meet the bar.
Some providers also sell pay-per-appointment, where the enquiry is qualified and a home visit is booked directly into your diary, priced higher than a raw lead because more of the sales process is already done.
Solar lead sources compared
| Source | Exclusivity | Speed | Typical price signal | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Own comparison website campaigns | Usually exclusive if the provider says so in writing | Real time | Mid to higher | Confirm the provider owns the site, not just runs ads to it |
| Google Ads and paid social, run direct | Exclusive | Real time | Mid to higher | Ask how the campaign qualifies the homeowner before the form |
| Directories and listing sites | Often shared | Real time to same-day | Lower | Several installers may be calling the same homeowner |
| Shared lead marketplaces and aged data | Shared, often resold | Delayed, sometimes days old | Lowest | Lowest contact rate; check consent and source before buying |
How to judge solar lead quality in the first two weeks
- Contact rate: what share of solar leads you actually reached.
- Appointment rate: Did it become a visit?
- Rejection rate: how many were replaced under the rejection policy.
Track three numbers from day one: the contact rate (how many leads you actually reach on the phone), the appointment rate (how many turn into a booked home visit or survey), and the rejection rate (how many were invalid numbers, duplicates or clearly not genuine). A provider confident in their own leads will offer a rejection policy, replacing a bad lead rather than charging for it. If contact rates are consistently low in week one, the problem is usually speed of delivery or lead source, not your sales team.
Contact rate and follow-up practice
Route every solar lead straight to a salesperson's phone and call within five minutes of it landing. If the first call goes unanswered, follow up with a text and an email within the hour rather than waiting for the next working day. Installers who automate this first follow-up step consistently convert more leads into surveys than those relying on someone checking an inbox.
Red flags when choosing a solar lead provider
Be cautious of a provider who will not say in writing whether leads are exclusive, who cannot explain where the enquiry came from, who has no rejection policy for invalid leads, or who pushes aged data as a cheaper alternative to real time leads. Also check that the provider runs compliant campaigns under ASA and ICO rules and can show consent was captured for every lead - solar advertising has drawn regulatory attention in the UK, and a provider cutting corners on compliance is a risk to your business as well as theirs.
Lead Pronto sells exclusive, real time solar leads to UK solar installers from £25 per lead, with no retainer and no contract. See solar leads for pricing, lead types and coverage.
