Sunrun pivots to direct sales origination as affiliate installer channels slump

Sunrun, one of the largest residential solar and battery companies, reported strong revenue growth for the second quarter of 2026 but lowered its full-year financial outlook. The company is shifting away from selling through outside affiliate installers and toward its own direct sales force, which now makes up most of its new business. That shift comes as some affiliate installers have struggled financially, including the bankruptcy of one major partner, Freedom Forever.

For homeowners, the more notable trend is on the battery side. Sunrun said 74% of new solar customers in the quarter also added battery storage, a record high, and the company installed more standalone batteries for existing solar customers too. It also started a new service division, called Lighthouse, that offers maintenance support even to solar customers who didn't originally install with Sunrun.

The company is also leaning further into "grid services," meaning it pays or credits customers whose home batteries send power back to the grid at times of high demand, such as hot afternoons. Sunrun said it dispatched over 700 megawatts of this capacity over the past year and is working with partners including Tesla and Renew Home on deals to supply pooled residential battery power to utilities and large tech companies running AI data centers. It's also piloting a program that installs small AI computing equipment in some solar-and-battery homes to make use of extra generated electricity. None of this changes rebate or incentive programs, but it signals that home batteries are increasingly seen as a resource utilities want access to, not just backup power for the house.