Ohio solar leads
Small-scale solar in Ohio grew 20.0% in the year to July 2026, to 543.0 MW in the EIA’s Electric Power Monthly, and 89.8% of owner-occupied homes are detached houses. Summit Leads supplies solar leads in Ohio by real-time ping/post, with filters and routing agreed during onboarding.
Summit Leads sells solar leads by real-time ping/post. Filters and routing are agreed during onboarding.
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Ohio facts for solar lead buyers
| Fact | Value Source |
|---|---|
| Small-scale solar PV capacity, July 2026 | 543.0 MW (EIA estimate, July 2026), 22nd of the 49 states with an EIA estimateElectric Power Monthly, Table 6.2.B: Net Summer Capacity Using Primarily Renewable Energy Sources and by State U.S. Energy Information Administration |
| Small-scale solar PV capacity, July 2025 | 452.5 MW (EIA estimate, July 2025), so capacity rose 90.5 MW, or 20.0%, in twelve monthsElectric Power Monthly, Table 6.2.B: Net Summer Capacity Using Primarily Renewable Energy Sources and by State U.S. Energy Information Administration |
| Solar resource in Columbus, the largest city | 4.50 kWh per square meter per day for a fixed array facing south at a 20-degree tilt (PVWatts version 8, typical-year weather, checked October 9, 2026)PVWatts Calculator (version 8): Columbus, Ohio National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) |
| Average residential electricity price, 2024 | 15.99 cents per kWh (2023: 15.38 cents; EIA Form EIA-861 data, 2024), the 17th highest of the 50 statesElectric Power Annual, Table 2.10: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State U.S. Energy Information Administration |
| Housing units that are detached single-family houses | 68.8% (3,639,718 of 5,292,391 units; ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25024), the 15th highest share of the 50 statesTable B25024, Units in Structure: Ohio (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| Owner-occupied single-family detached homes | 2,933,727, or 89.8% of 3,267,904 owner-occupied homes (ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25032)Table B25032, Tenure by Units in Structure: Ohio (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| Renter-occupied detached houses | 482,810, or 30.3% of 1,595,287 renter-occupied homes (ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25032)Table B25032, Tenure by Units in Structure: Ohio (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| Owner-occupied single-family attached homes | 134,135, or 4.1% of owner-occupied homes (ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25032)Table B25032, Tenure by Units in Structure: Ohio (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| Owner-occupied mobile homes | 110,737, or 3.4% of owner-occupied homes (ACS 5-year 2020-2024, table B25032)Table B25032, Tenure by Units in Structure: Ohio (ACS 5-Year 2020-2024) U.S. Census Bureau |
| State electrical contractor license | Issued by the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board to electrical contractors who perform commercial work (OCILB examination application, form dated September 2025)OCILB Examination Application (form dated September 2025) Ohio Department of Commerce, Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board |
Last reviewed: October 9, 2026. A summary for education, not legal advice.
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Ohio’s small-scale solar base and its growth
The EIA estimates small-scale solar, meaning systems under 1 MW on the customer side of the meter, for each state every month. In Table 6.2.B of the Electric Power Monthly, Ohio reached 543.0 MW in July 2026, up from 452.5 MW in July 2025. The 90.5 MW added in those twelve months is a 20.0% increase. Ohio ranked 22nd of the 49 states with an EIA estimate in July 2026.
| Month | Capacity (MW) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 452.5 | EIA EPM Table 6.2.B, July 2025 |
| July 2026 | 543.0 | EIA EPM Table 6.2.B, July 2026 |
Ohio’s base is a fraction of the largest solar states, but it grew by a fifth in a single year. For a buyer, that means a younger fleet of systems: fewer homes with older arrays to service, and more recent installs that may later add batteries or panels. The number counts equipment on roofs; it does not measure how many Ohio homeowners are asking about solar.
Sunlight in Columbus
Columbus is Ohio’s largest city in the Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 estimates. For that location, the PVWatts calculator from the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NREL’s former name) gives 4.50 kWh per square meter per day of solar radiation on a modeled array (checked October 9, 2026).
The setup behind the figure: PVWatts version 8 defaults, meaning a fixed open-rack array pointed south and tilted 20 degrees, at the Census gazetteer point for Columbus, with typical-year weather from the National Solar Radiation Database. Cleveland on the lake and Cincinnati in the south would each give their own value; this one is a reference point for the state, not a prediction for a house.
Ohio average residential electricity price
Table 2.10 of the EIA’s Electric Power Annual divides residential revenue by residential sales for each state. Ohio’s 2023 and 2024 averages appear below for reference only.
| Year | Cents per kWh | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 15.38 | EIA Electric Power Annual, Table 2.10 |
| 2024 | 15.99 | EIA Electric Power Annual, Table 2.10 |
Ohio electrical licensing and solar installers
This section is general information, not legal advice. It summarizes official sources as of October 9, 2026; check the current text of each rule before relying on it.
The Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board, part of the Department of Commerce, issues state licenses in five trades. Its examination application (form dated September 2025) names electrical, HVAC, refrigeration, plumbing and hydronics contractors “who perform commercial work”. Solar is not a separate class on the form; an installer doing commercial electrical work would look to the electrical license.
The same form says the license and the contractor’s liability insurance must be assigned to a contracting company as defined in Ohio Revised Code 4740.01. For a buyer placing commercial solar requests, that makes the company license the item to check. The form itself covers commercial work only.
Ohio housing by type and tenure
Ohio is a state of houses. The Census Bureau’s table B25024 finds 3,639,718 detached single-family homes among 5,292,391 housing units in the 2020-2024 ACS, or 68.8%, which ranks 15th among the 50 states. Splitting by tenure in table B25032, 2,933,727 of 3,267,904 owner-occupied homes are detached (89.8%), 134,135 are attached single-family homes (4.1%) and 110,737 are mobile homes (3.4%), all for 2020-2024.
Renters live in houses too: 482,810 of Ohio’s 1,595,287 renter-occupied homes are detached, or 30.3% in the same 2020-2024 table. For those homes the landlord, not the tenant, decides on a roof system, which is one reason buyers filterFilterA rule that decides which leads a buyer is offered, based on fields such as vertical, sub-type, state, ZIP code, homeownership or accident details. Glossary on homeowner status.
Housing age and values are on Ohio window replacement leads, and heating fuels and degree days on Ohio HVAC leads, so they are left off this page.
Ohio counties with the most detached owner homes
Below are the ten Ohio counties with the largest number of owner-occupied single-family detached homes, from the 2020-2024 ACS county estimates in table B25032. It is a housing table; it does not show where any lead originates.
| County | Owner-occupied detached homes | Owner-occupied homes | Detached share of owner homes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuyahoga | 289,515 | 329,173 | 88.0% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Franklin | 248,701 | 292,123 | 85.1% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Hamilton | 183,647 | 210,407 | 87.3% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Summit | 141,808 | 156,137 | 90.8% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Montgomery | 131,908 | 144,482 | 91.3% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Lucas | 103,931 | 113,549 | 91.5% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Stark | 100,673 | 107,964 | 93.2% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Butler | 93,761 | 102,675 | 91.3% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Lorain | 87,302 | 94,405 | 92.5% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
| Warren | 66,854 | 73,084 | 91.5% | ACS 2020-2024, B25032 (county) |
Every county in the list is above 85% detached among owner homes. Franklin, which contains Columbus, is lowest at 85.1%, and Stark is highest at 93.2% in the county table (2020-2024 ACS). The three big urban counties, Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton, together hold 721,863 owner-occupied detached homes.
Reading the Ohio numbers for solar coverage
Put together, the Ohio figures point to three practical considerations for a buyer:
- A small base that is growing fast. The EIA’s July 2026 estimate shows 20.0% growth in a year, so many Ohio systems are recent installs rather than aging arrays.
- Detached houses dominate among owners. At 89.8% of owner-occupied homes in the 2020-2024 ACS, a homeowner filter already removes most attached and multi-unit housing.
- County shares are high everywhere. The county estimates (2020-2024) put all ten large counties above 85% detached, so ZIP code choices in Ohio tend to follow installer reach more than housing type.
Nothing here estimates how many solar leads Ohio produces or where they would come from. It describes the installed base, the housing and the licensing a buyer works with.
What Ohio solar buyers filter on
An Ohio solar buyer usually narrows a campaign with a few lead fields, each connected to the facts above:
- Homeowner status: separates owners from the renters in detached houses described in the housing section.
- Project type: the general kind of solar project the homeowner asked about; exact choices are fixed when the solar form is final.
- Timeframe: whether the homeowner plans to act soon or is gathering information.
- ZIP code: the service area an installer covers, with the county table as a guide.
The filters for Ohio solar leads are agreed with each buyer during onboarding. Exclusive or shared routing for solar leads is agreed with each buyer during onboarding. Every field is shown on the sample solar lead.
Where buyers filter in Ohio
Ohio has three metro areas of more than two million people in the Census Bureau’s July 1, 2025 estimates, and the Cincinnati figure counts its Kentucky and Indiana counties as well. A solar installer here typically covers one metro and the towns around it. Each buyer’s coverage area is agreed during onboarding, inside these metro areas or outside them.
- Columbus: 2,242,028 (July 1, 2025 estimate)
- Cleveland: 2,165,775 (July 1, 2025 estimate)
- Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN: 2,312,858 (July 1, 2025 estimate, whole metro area)
- Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek: 826,554 (July 1, 2025 estimate)
- Akron: 701,780 (July 1, 2025 estimate)
- Toledo: 599,376 (July 1, 2025 estimate)
Source: Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area population estimates, Vintage 2025 (cbsa-est2025-alldata), U.S. Census Bureau.
Consent records for Ohio solar leads
Each Ohio solar lead carries the TCPATCPAThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal law that governs telemarketing calls and texts, autodialers, prerecorded voice messages and the Do Not Call Registry. Glossary consent record captured on the form. How Ohio treats telephone solicitation alongside the federal rules is set out in the Ohio line of the state telemarketing laws table, and leads in Ohio lists all of Summit’s verticals for the state.
Ohio solar lead questions
How fast is rooftop solar growing in Ohio?
Ohio’s small-scale solar rose from 452.5 MW in July 2025 to 543.0 MW in July 2026, a 20.0% increase, in the EIA’s Electric Power Monthly, Table 6.2.B.
Does the Ohio contractor board license solar installers?
The board’s examination application (September 2025) lists electrical, HVAC, refrigeration, plumbing and hydronics licenses for contractors who perform commercial work. It has no separate solar class. This is general information, not legal advice.
How many Ohio renters live in detached houses?
482,810 renter-occupied homes, or 30.3% of all renter-occupied homes, were detached houses in the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 ACS (table B25032).
Which Ohio county has the highest detached share among its owner homes?
Of the ten counties with the most owner-occupied detached homes, Stark County is highest at 93.2%, in the 2020-2024 ACS county data (table B25032). Cuyahoga has the most such homes, 289,515.
Could an Ohio solar buyer take leads from only part of the state by ZIP code?
Coverage and filters are agreed with each buyer during onboarding; email us the ZIP codes you want covered.
Request Ohio solar leads
Email us the Ohio ZIP codes you cover, your daily volume or caps and how you take delivery. ReturnReturnA buyer's request for credit on a lead that fails agreed standards, such as a disconnected number, a duplicate or a lead outside the filters. Glossary terms are agreed on the onboarding call, before you go live.
Start small, with no long-term commitment
- No long-term contract. Pause or stop at any time.
- No setup fee and no monthly fee. You pay only for leads delivered that match your filters.
- Start with a small test volume and scale when the numbers work.
- MVA and home improvement leads are exclusive by default: each lead is sold to one buyer.
- Return terms are agreed on the onboarding call, before you go live.
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