Have you ever gotten into a neighborly arms race with the family across the street? They put up a fence, so you put up a bigger fence; a new satellite dish appears on their roof granting them access to 200 channels, so you buy a larger satellite dish with access to 400 channels; you come home one day to find a new bright red Ford Mustang sitting in the neighbor’s driveway, so you go out and buy a Corvette in an even more obnoxious, look-at-me color, the kids’ college fund be darned!
Envy green is typically not a flattering color for most. However, research shows that being green with envy is actually one of the strongest motivating factors in becoming green environmentally, as well.
According to Co. Exist, a 2014 study conducted by Yale University and University of Connecticut researchers mapped over 4,000 solar units over a decade and discovered that a single installation in a group of households increases the chances of a second house installing solar panels by almost 50 percent.
More recent data from SolarCity, a solar installer, found 10 cities, all with over 100 installations, where the largest percentage of installations came from referrals. In Fort Collins, Colo., 69 percent of solar installations came from referrals. In Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, 64 percent came from referrals.
On the whole, 2015 had more solar installations of any year so far, and if this data is to be believed, that means as more people see their neighbors homes sport fancy new solar panels, the total number of homes with solar installations is going to grow exponentially.
To see the full list of solar cities and for active maps that show the number of customers and those referred by a friend over time, follow the link below.
