Sunrun has published survey results indicating that US homeowners are increasingly apprehensive about the ability of traditional utilities to address rising electricity demand and grid resilience, with data center energy requirements specifically cited as a contributor. The company claims that its distributed home solar and battery storage systems offer a technical response to both grid strain and outage risks.
According to Sunrun, the survey—conducted in September 2025 with 1,000 US homeowners—found that 80 percent of respondents worry data centers will increase their power costs, while 68 percent doubt that utility providers can keep up with local demand. Additionally, 81 percent of surveyed homeowners experienced at least one power outage in the past year, and nearly three-quarters expect future outages due to high demand or extreme weather.
Technical focus in the Sunrun announcement centers on distributed energy resources. Sunrun claims its networked residential solar and battery systems, aggregated into distributed power plants, are delivering hundreds of megawatts of dispatchable power to stabilize the grid during peak demand. These capabilities, the company says, allow customers to maintain power during outages and, through coordinated dispatch, support grid reliability at scale.
The survey also found 62 percent of respondents have considered installing a home battery storage system, with motivations balanced between cost savings and backup power. Furthermore, 91 percent believe that distributed home solar and batteries strengthen the grid, and 92 percent would be willing to share excess energy during peak load periods.
Sunrun CEO Mary Powell commented, “The fastest way to strengthen the grid is by putting more generation and storage where people live and consume it,” adding, “home storage and solar don’t just keep the lights on—they deliver dispatchable power our grid desperately needs, and the majority of Americans recognize that’s good for the entire country.”
The company notes that its current growth in residential storage deployments is a response to demand for greater energy independence, as well as an illustration of how distributed resources could reshape system-level grid operations for both homes and critical infrastructure.
Source: Sunrun
