Skill: 1kalin/afrexai-solar-installer (version 1.0.0)

# Solar Installation Business Operations Complete operational knowledge base for residential and commercial solar installation companies. Covers system design, permitting, sales, installation management, financing, and growth. ## Industry Overview - US residential solar market: $30B+ annually, 700K+ installations/year - Average residential system: 8-12 kW, $2.50-$3.50/watt installed - 30% federal ITC (Investment Tax Credit) through 2032 - 12,000+ solar installers in the US - Growth rate: 20-25% annually ## System Design & Engineering ### Residential Systems - Site assessment: roof age, orientation, shading analysis (Aurora Solar, Helioscope) - Panel selection: monocrystalline (21-23% efficiency) vs polycrystalline (17-19%) - Inverter types: string ($1,000-2,000), microinverters ($150-250/panel), power optimizers ($50-80/panel) - Battery storage: Tesla Powerwall ($12,000-16,000), Enphase IQ ($15,000-20,000) - System sizing: annual kWh usage / (365 × peak sun hours × system efficiency 0.78) - Design software: Aurora Solar ($250-500/mo), Helioscope ($200/mo), OpenSolar (free tier) ### Commercial Systems - Flat roof: ballasted racking, 10-15 degree tilt - Typical size: 50-500 kW - PPA structures: $0.08-0.14/kWh, 20-25 year terms - Interconnection: utility coordination, net metering vs feed-in tariff - Demand charge reduction: pair with battery for peak shaving ## Permitting & Compliance ### Federal - ITC: 30% tax credit (residential + commercial through 2032) - Adders: +10% domestic content, +10% energy community, +20% low-income - IRS Form 5695 (residential), Form 3468 (commercial) ### State & Local - Permits required: electrical, building, sometimes structural - AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) varies by municipality - Typical permit cost: $200-$1,500 - Plan sets: site plan, electrical single-line diagram, structural attachment details - SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Credits): varies by state ($10-$400/MWh) - Net metering policies: state-specific, track NEM 3.0 changes ### Interconnection - Utility application: pre-construction approval required - PTO (Permission to Operate): final utility sign-off, 2-8 weeks typical - Meter upgrade may be needed for systems >10 kW ## Sales & Customer Acquisition ### Lead Sources - Door-to-door: $0.50-2.00/door knocked, 1-3% close rate - Digital marketing: $50-200 per qualified lead - Referrals: lowest cost ($0-500 incentive), highest close rate (40-60%) - Partnerships: roofers, realtors, home builders - Lead buying: $20-80/lead (shared), $100-300/lead (exclusive) ### Sales Process 1. Initial consultation (15-30 min phone/video) 2. Site survey (drone or in-person, shade analysis) 3. Custom proposal: energy offset, savings projection, financing options 4. Contract signing: include change order process, warranty terms 5. Typical sales cycle: 2-6 weeks residential, 2-6 months commercial ### Proposal Software - Aurora Solar (design + proposal), Enerflo, Solo, Sunbase - Include: system size, production estimate, 25-year savings, financing comparison - Always show: cash purchase vs loan vs lease vs PPA side-by-side ### Pricing Strategy - Cost-plus: total cost + 20-35% margin - Market-based: competitive analysis by zip code - Average residential gross margin: 25-35% - Average commercial gross margin: 15-25% - Adders: battery (+$10K-20K), panel upgrade (+$0.10-0.30/W), critter guard ($500-1,500) ## Financing ### Residential Options - Cash purchase: highest ROI, 6-10 year payback - Solar loan: $0 down, 12-25 year terms, 4-9% APR (GoodLeap, Mosaic, Sunlight Financial) - Lease: customer pays fixed monthly, no ownership - PPA: pay per kWh generated, no upfront cost - Dealer fees: 15-30% of project cost (baked into loan rate) ### Commercial Options - PPA: most common, off-balance-sheet - Capital lease: ownership at end of term - PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy): repaid through property tax - MACRS depreciation: 5-year accelerated + bonus depreciation ## Installation Operations ### Crew Structure - Install crew: 3-4 people per residential job (1 lead installer, 2-3 helpers) - Electrician: licensed, for panel/inverter/meter work - Target: 1-2 residential installs per crew per day ### Installation Timeline (Residential) 1. Permitting: 1-4 weeks 2. Equipment procurement: 1-2 weeks 3. Roof install: 1-2 days 4. Electrical: 0.5-1 day 5. Inspection: 1-2 weeks 6. PTO: 2-8 weeks - Total contract-to-PTO: 6-16 weeks ### Equipment & Inventory - Keep 2-4 weeks of panel inventory - Racking: IronRidge, Unirac, SnapNrack - BOS (Balance of System): conduit, wire, disconnects, monitoring - Fleet: box trucks or trailers with roof racks ### Quality & Warranty - Workmanship warranty: 10-25 years (industry standard) - Panel warranty: 25-30 years (manufacturer) - Inverter warranty: 12-25 years - Document everything: photos before/during/after, torque specs, wire labels ## Team & Compensation ### Key Roles - Sales reps: $60K-120K OTE (base + commission 5-10% of contract) - Install lead: $55K-80K + performance bonus - Installer helper: $35K-55K - Project coordinator: $45K-65K - Electrician: $60K-90K (or subcontracted $75-150/hr) - Design engineer: $55K-85K ### Certifications - NABCEP PV Installation Professional: gold standard, increases close rate - OSHA 10/30: required for job sites - State electrical license: required for electricians - Manufacturer certifications: Tesla Powerwall, Enphase, SolarEdge ## Financial Benchmarks ### Revenue Per Install - Residential: $25,000-$50,000 - Commercial: $100,000-$2,000,000+ - Battery add-on: $10,000-$25,000 ### Cost Structure (Residential) - Panels: 25-30% of project cost - Inverter/BOS: 10-15% - Labor: 10-15% - Permitting/interconnection: 3-5% - Sales/marketing: 15-25% - Overhead/G&A: 10-15% - Net margin (healthy): 8-15% ### Key Metrics - Cost per watt installed: track monthly - Customer acquisition cost (CAC): target <$3,000 - Install time per kW: benchmark efficiency - PTO timeline: track bottlenecks - Net Promoter Score: target 60+ - Referral rate: target 30%+ ## Growth Playbook ### Phase 1: Foundation (0-50 installs/year) - Focus on residential in 1-2 markets - Build referral network: roofers, electricians, realtors - Nail the install process before scaling - Get NABCEP certified ### Phase 2: Scale (50-200 installs/year) - Add dedicated sales team - Digital marketing: Google Ads, solar review sites - Subcontractor network for overflow - Add battery storage as standard offering ### Phase 3: Expansion (200-500 installs/year) - Enter commercial market - Multiple crews running simultaneously - In-house design and engineering team - Regional expansion or franchise model ### Phase 4: Market Leader (500+ installs/year) - EPC for commercial/utility scale - O&M (Operations & Maintenance) recurring revenue - White-label installer for national brands - Energy storage and EV charging integration ## Common Pitfalls - Underestimating permitting timelines (varies wildly by AHJ) - Over-reliance on dealer fee financing (margin erosion) - Not tracking cost-per-watt by project (can't optimize what you don't measure) - Ignoring roof condition (warranty liability if roof fails) - Poor change order management (scope creep kills margins) - Not building recurring revenue (O&M, monitoring, battery upgrades) --- ## Resources Build your AI-powered solar business operations: - [AI Agent Context Packs](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/) — Industry-specific AI agent configurations ($47/pack) - [AI Revenue Leak Calculator](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/ai-revenue-calculator/) — Find where your solar business is losing money to manual processes - [Agent Setup Wizard](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/agent-setup/) — Deploy AI agents for your solar company in minutes Built by [AfrexAI](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/) — AI Data Automations


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