TL;DR
Start with state incentive programs' contractor lists and NABCEP's professional directory. Then pitch the owner or operations lead on whatever slows their installs down.
Find solar installers with ManyPISolar installers buy a lot from outside vendors: panels and racking through distributors, financing partners, design and proposal software, permitting help, insurance, staffing and, above all, customer leads. They're also easier to list than most trades, because the programs that pay incentives and the bodies that certify installers publish who's taking part. Questions about reaching installers come up in r/solar and r/sales.
Where to find them
Source | What it gives you | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Certified solar professionals, searchable by name, certification or location | Certification is voluntary, so it covers installers who invest in credentials, not every installer | |
State incentive program lists | Contractors approved to install under the program | In New York, customers need a participating contractor to get NY-Sun incentives, and NYSERDA lists them in its Find a Contractor tool |
Utility installer lists | Installers a utility has approved for its programs | PSEG Long Island publishes one, for example |
State contractor licence lookups | Licensed electrical and solar contractors | Licence classes differ by state |
Map listings | Installers in an area, with website, phone and reviews | Catches the smaller crews that aren't certified or listed elsewhere |
Program lists are the most useful of these, because being on one usually means a company is actively installing in that state right now.
Where solar installers show up. Program lists catch the ones installing right now.
Residential or commercial?
Most installers lean one way, and they buy differently:
Type | Who usually decides | What they tend to buy |
|---|---|---|
Residential installer | The owner or the sales manager | Lead generation, financing partners, proposal software, CRM |
Commercial installer | The owner, operations or a project manager | Engineering and permitting help, equipment, staffing |
A company's own website usually makes the split obvious: rooftop photos of houses or warehouses, a "get a quote" form or a "request a proposal" page.
Signals worth acting on
Hiring installers or electricians. More work than crew, and often a stretched owner.
Moving up in an incentive program. NYSERDA's Quality Solar Installer designation, for example, requires at least 12 NY-Sun projects in the past calendar year.
New counties or states on the website. Expansion means new suppliers and new permits.
Reviews that mention delays. Complaints about permitting or slow communication point at what to pitch.
What to say
Installers get a lot of lead-generation pitches. Be specific about their business:
Hi [Name], I saw [Company] is [specific signal: now installing in Monmouth County / hiring two installers]. We work with [residential or commercial] installers on [what you do], mainly [the problem in their words, for example permit packages that sit for weeks]. [A proof point you can back up.] Worth a short call?
Doing it with ManyPI
Disclosure: ManyPI is our product.
You can describe the installers you want in one sentence, for example "residential solar installers in New Jersey that are hiring installers, with the owner's email", and the agent searches the live web, including company sites, map listings, directories, job boards and news, plus a database of over 600 million contacts. If you've exported a program list, import it and the agent finds each company's website and owner. Every email is checked before sending, and sequences go out from your own inbox and stop on reply. The lead generation page covers the setup, and our guide to HVAC and plumbing companies works the same way for other trades.
A solar installer search typed into the ManyPI agent.
Installer lists go stale quickly in this industry. Before a company goes into a campaign, check it's still trading: recent reviews and a live website are good signs.
Written by
Ole Mai
Founder / ManyPI