Karen M. Carper
MarketBasics Research
171 Stow St.
Concord, MA  01742
617-549-1492 

 

Thank you so much for participating in MarketBasics Research recent study to determine which solar services homebuilders and roofing contractors use and the types of services they buy.  This document summarizes the results of 40 telephone interviews conducted with builders and roofers that have installed solar PV on homes.

 

 

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS

Custom Builders

1.     Custom builders who were interviewed typically purchased their solar systems from solar contractors.  They bought “turnkey” systems that included:

·         All of the solar equipment needed (often this was bundled into solar kits)

·         The system design

·         System installation

·         Processing of utility and state rebates, as well as applications for Federal tax credits

·         Permits (although some builders pulled the permits themselves)

·         Warranty

2.     Very few custom builders buy direct from solar manufacturers.  This may be because they believe manufacturers don’t have the local resources to do the materials delivery and installation.  All custom builders expect their solar contractor to deliver the materials to the site just in time.

3.     Few custom builders do the solar installation themselves because they don’t have staff with the skills needed.  Some however, do aspects of the integration themselves--e.g., materials acquisition, rebate processing, permitting.

4.     Those who do the installation themselves said the system cost can be substantially less than if they hire a solar contractor--about 40% less.

5.     Pricing

·         The solar contractors who do business with custom builders typically only offer bundled pricing.  Some builders said they would like the pricing to be unbundled since they sometimes perform some of the system services themselves--e.g., the system design.

·         Most custom builders said the installed price they pay for solar is typically about $5.50 to $6.00 per watt.  The range of prices paid however, was $3.50 to $7.50 per watt.

  

Production Builders

1.     Production builders who were interviewed typically purchased their solar systems from large solar integrators such as SunPower.  These builders typically got all of the services mentioned above for custom builders plus:

·         A suite of sales and marketing services such as training of salespeople about how to sell solar

·         Marketing materials

·         An online sales and marketing support system

·         Access to a network of certified solar installers

·         Access to customer service

2.     Pricing

·         Most production builders said the installed price they pay for solar is typically $6 per watt or less.

·         Price is extremely important to production builders.  They buy from integrators who have the most affordable price and provide the best, highest quality products.

 

Roofing Contractors

1.     Most of the roofing contractors interviewed purchase solar direct from manufacturers or from building supply or roofing distributors. 

2.     Roofing contractors varied considerably in how they handled the installation of the system--with some doing the entire install themselves and others only doing part of it.

3.     They typically get the following from the solar manufacturers they do business with:

·         All of the solar equipment needed (often this was bundled into solar kits)

·         The system design (although many said they would like tools to do this themselves

·         System installation--for those who didn’t want to do it themselves

·         Processing of utility and state rebates, as well as applications for Federal tax credits

·         Warranty

4.     Pricing

·         The installed price that roofing contractors typically pay is $5 per watt.