How to Reduce Soft Costs in Solar Installations

Introduction

As solar technology continues to improve and hardware prices decline, the focus has shifted to an often-overlooked area that significantly impacts overall project costs: soft costs. These include expenses related to permitting, financing, customer acquisition, labor, and overhead—not the solar panels or inverters themselves.

In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, soft costs can account for over 60% of the total cost of a residential solar system. This article will explore proven, actionable ways to reduce these soft costs, helping solar installers increase margins and make solar more accessible for customers.

What Are Soft Costs in Solar?

Soft costs refer to all non-hardware expenses in the total cost of installing a solar energy system. These typically include:

• Permitting, inspection, and interconnection (PII)
• Sales and marketing/customer acquisition
• Installation labor
• Supply chain logistics
• Overhead (office, admin, insurance, etc.)

Reducing these can significantly improve profitability without compromising quality.

Strategies to Reduce Soft Costs

1. Streamline Permitting and Interconnection

Why It Matters

Permitting delays can add weeks to project timelines and inflate labor and overhead costs.

How to Improve

• Use digital permit submission platforms like SolarAPP+.
• Partner with AHJs (Authorities Having Jurisdiction) that support fast-track solar permitting.
• Standardize documentation to avoid repeat corrections.

Example: A solar company in Arizona reduced permitting time from 10 days to 1 day by implementing SolarAPP+ and using pre-approved templates.

2. Automate Design and Proposal Creation

Using AI-powered tools for solar design can cut hours off each project.

Tools to Consider

• Aurora Solar
• Helioscope
• OpenSolar

These platforms allow quick site assessments, shade analysis, and proposal generation in minutes.

3. Improve Customer Acquisition Efficiency

Why It’s Expensive

Customer acquisition can cost $2,000–$4,000 per residential installation.

How to Lower It

• Focus on inbound marketing (SEO, blogs, YouTube, social media)
• Use referral programs
• Leverage CRMs and automation (e.g., HubSpot, Zoho, Apollo.io)
• Retarget web visitors with Google/Facebook ads

Example: A solar installer in Texas saw a 40% decrease in acquisition cost by shifting from door-to-door sales to automated email sequences and video testimonials.

4. Train and Retain Skilled Installers

Labor inefficiency leads to costly delays.

Actionable Steps

• Create internal training programs
• Use repeatable system designs for faster installs
• Implement scheduling tools like AccuLynx or JobNimbus

5. Reduce Site Visits with Remote Assessment

Tools and Tips

• Use drone mapping or Google Earth Pro
• Pre-screen roofs using digital surveys
• Confirm utility bills and load patterns via email or apps

This helps avoid multiple site visits and saves hours of labor.

6. Consolidate Vendor and Equipment Logistics

Managing multiple vendors can be costly.

What to Do

• Partner with full-service solar distributors
• Order in bulk to get better pricing
• Use supply chain software to avoid stock delays

7. Leverage Automation for Admin Tasks

Tools like Zapier, Monday.com, and Google Apps Scripts can automate:

• Sending contracts
• Email follow-ups
• Project updates
• Document generation

Even small automation steps can save dozens of hours each month.

Conclusion

Reducing soft costs is one of the most effective ways to boost profits and scale your solar business sustainably. Whether you’re focusing on faster permitting, using automation tools, or improving customer targeting, small improvements in each area can lead to major savings.

Start by picking one area—like automating proposals or cutting customer acquisition costs—and optimizing from there. Over time, these efficiencies will compound and help you deliver better value to customers and grow faster.

References

• U.S. Department of Energy – Soft Cost Benchmarks
• SolarAPP+ – Streamlining Permitting
• SEIA – Solar Market Insight Reports