Currently, the solar industry is flourishing. The U.S. installed 5 in Q2 2021.7 the largest Q2 ever recorded, with GW of solar capacity, a 45% increase over the second quarter of 2020.
These additions enable the U.S. has now officially surpassed 3 million installations, the vast majority of which are residential systems.
In addition, solar power generated 56% of the new electricity generation capacity added in the U.S. throughout the first half of 2021. So if you’re considering investing in solar, the time is now.
Why Do You Sell Solar Panels
Falling Prices Equals Growth
The cost has been one of the biggest arguments against solar over the last few decades. However, everything has changed.
Over the past ten years, the cost of solar installation has decreased by more than 70%, spurring the industry to grow in new markets and set up countless systems throughout the U.S.S.
In particular, the price of an average-sized residential system has decreased from $40,000 in 2010 to roughly $20,000 in 2018 (both prices are before incentives).
Solar is now competitive with all other types of electricity generation, and most recently, utility-scale prices ranged from $16/MWh to $35/MWh.
Solar Is Leading In New Electric Capacity Additions
Solar energy made up 43% of all the new electric capacity that was added to the grid in 2020. Compared to other sources, solar has added the most capacity to the grid in the past two years, making it the largest share in history.
And it’s not an accident. In the last eight years, solar has ranked first or second in the addition of new electric capacity, increasing its share of the total U.S.S. electrical production starting at just 0.1% in 2010 to nearly 4% today.
It’s Now A 50-state Market
With more than 8 million homes using solar energy, California has long dominated the solar market. However, other markets are growing quickly, and in 2020, other states attained their largest market share over the previous ten years.
According to SEIA data, this shift is the result of Texas’ and Florida’s fast-paced economic growth. With 26,995 MW anticipated to be installed over the next 5 years, Texas actually holds the top spot in terms of growth projection.
With 12,046 MW of growth anticipated over the following five years, Florida comes in third (just behind California). More and more states are anticipated to increase their share of the national market as prices continue to decline.
How To Start Selling Solar Panels
Learn What Makes People Buy Solar Panels
There are a few main reasons why people choose to purchase solar panels. First, there are financial benefits in the form of lower electricity bills.
The average U.S. electric bill is $1,008.S. makes between $100 and $200 per month, so that’s a significant sum of money saved. And as solar energy becomes more affordable, more and more consumers are making the switch.
Government subsidies and incentives are significant additional motivators. Currently, the cost of installing solar, including labor and equipment, is covered by the federal solar tax credit to the tune of 26%.
Therefore, based on the current average price of panels, the typical homeowner can anticipate receiving a tax credit of $4,000 to $6,000.
In addition, 10 states offer state solar tax incentives that consumers can use in addition to the federal tax credit, offering an extra $1,000 to $6,000 in savings.
Decide Who You’ll Be Selling To
You must choose whether you want to sell to commercial enterprises or to private individuals.
Consider the following points:
Project duration: Since commercial roofs are typically flat, installation is made easier. However, because commercial roofs are typically much bigger, installation can take anywhere from a week to several months. Typically, residential panels only take one or two days.
Property ownership: Commercial property ownership involves some complexities that are absent from the residential market. Owner-occupied buildings, buildings with a single tenant, and multi-tenant buildings are among them, ranging in complexity from least to most.
In conclusion, be aware of the dynamics you’ll encounter when trying to sell to various groups and pick the one(s) you’re most comfortable doing so.
Get Certified And Register Your Business
The distinction between certification and licensing must first be understood.
While certification is optional, licensing is something that is required (by some states). Therefore, you must obtain a license before starting your business if you’re doing business in a state that does.
Regardless of whether you require a license, you should think about getting certified to set your company apart from the competition.
The top certification body in the solar industry is thought to be the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP).
Know How Many Panels Your Customer Needs
A number of variables, including the size of the customer’s roof, how much electricity they use, and how much sun their roof receives, will determine how many panels they require.
This means that before you can tell them how many panels they’ll need and where to install them, you need to get a good view of the roof.
Know Where You’ll Be Getting Your Supplies From
You’ll need to build connections with distributors as solar installers in order to obtain your supplies.
Solar distributors typically sit between solar energy equipment producers like Panasonic, SolarEdge, etc. in the supply chain., and solar installers.
Individual solar installers don’t need to carry a lot of inventory because distributors store and deliver equipment as needed by residential and commercial contractors.
Instead, solar installers can hold off on making the necessary purchases until a homeowner starts a project.
Where To Sell Solar Panels
It’s time to approach customers now that you are aware of the why and the how. Here are five excellent locations to sell solar panels.
Door-to-door
Despite the fact that it may seem a little archaic at first, going door to door is a great way to begin selling solar.
The salesperson’s ability to see the homeowner’s roof and respond to questions they may have in real-time is one of the reasons door-to-door marketing is so successful.
Your salespeople will be able to give priority to “roofs with promise” if they can see the roof, which is another advantage.”
Targeted Online Communities
Nowadays, you can search online for groups of people with similar interests in almost any field or industry, including solar energy. These solar communities are excellent places for solar companies to soft sell their services.
Since they are eager to use it, the residents of these communities are already convinced of the benefits of using solar energy to produce electricity.
This means that selling to them is typically simpler because you don’t have to sell them on solar energy itself, freeing you up to concentrate on the advantages that your specific company has over the competition.
Local Google And Facebook Ads
Online solar sales can also be made through Google and Facebook advertisements. You can run ads on these platforms that are targeted at solar buyers who are actively looking. The following Google Ads tools can help you accomplish that:
In-market: Display ads to users who have been looking for goods and services similar to yours.
Remarketing: Find users who have already interacted with your ads, website, or app and target them to show them more of your ads.
Show ads to Google users who are searching for particular words or phrases in the content (e.g, solar panel companies near me).
Targeting ads to pages about specific topics across multiple websites (i.e, solar energy). Reaching a wide range of pages on the Display Network is made possible by topic targeting.
Placement: Display ads on particular websites that customers are likely to visit (like directories).