Solar Contractors need to continually check different information sources to keep up-to-date with government changes, new technologies, and new ways of doing business in solar. This means looking beyond traditional news sources and into blogs, Reddit threads, YouTube, and even podcasts.

Drones can capture all the data necessary for a highly-accurate solar survey and design. Beyond that, drones also collect data that’s essential for niche commercial use cases and provide data on the drone itself, making repairs or upgrades easier.

Learn why drone imagery is more accurate and real-time than static satellite and aerial imagery, or LiDAR point cloud data.

Outside of towers, dormers, hips, and other unique roof designs, most roofs are square or rectangular in nature—meaning theoretically, they have 90-degree angles. However, this isn’t the case in reality. Learn why squaring off the corners matters so much for making accurate PV designs.

If you want to scale with flexibility, have peaks and valleys in your work, need specialized support, or are growing a niche solar company, working with third-party design consultants can add tremendous value and scalability to your business.

A common misconception about third-party outsourcing is that in-house teams can’t impact delivery times. The theory goes that you are completely removed from the process and the Design consultants you hired to do everything. In reality, though, you have a lot of control over delivery times. If you choose to set-and-forget, perhaps not. But if you’re willing to be involved, you can speed things up considerably.

Here are three ways to speed up the process while ensuring quality.

Getting full plan sets doesn’t need to mean tons of in-house work. If you are willing to work with trusted third parties, you can collect survey data and seamlessly get quality plan sets developed in under 48 hours. If you are thinking of scaling up your solar team without any additional overhead or fixed costs, here’s how the process looks.

Dormant deciduous trees–species that lose their leaves seasonally–cause interesting challenges for solar contractors in both production and shade estimates. This article looks more in-depth at which dormant deciduous tree factors impact solar projects and how to manage them as a contractor.

Between scheduling hassles, roof diversity, and dealing with trees, solar surveying is difficult enough as it is. Then you add roof obstructions. Often built to blend in, these obstructions are difficult to manually measure, and you need to get the 3D measurements to optimize your shading analysis. Plus, you're climbing up on the roof unless you have a drone. On most roofs, there are eight types of obstructions to watch for. Here’s what you can do about them. 

On top of the usual challenges like identifying roof obstructions or getting accurate shading data, you also have to manage widely varying roof structures. This article provides an overview of common roof structures, why roofs are built in specific ways and considerations you need to know as a Contractor. 

Summer is just around the corner. For solar surveyors, that means months of high temperatures and sun exposure. The Scanifly team has completed hundreds of solar surveys throughout the United States and talked to dozens of contractors in states with the hottest summers—in this article, we’re sharing the types of gear you’ll need to say cool.

While outsourcing can be efficient, it’s essential to not just find the right partner but also build the right working relationship. Engaging with third-party designers requires some nuance–a few things to focus on and a few to avoid.

Outsourcing is a new growth lever in solar. In 2023, over two-thirds (67.1%) of Designers report outsourcing at least ten percent of project volume, and 13.4% report they always outsource something. This is a complete flip from just two years ago—in 2021, the majority of solar contractors (63.3%) did not outsource any tasks. What’s driving the change?

For new surveyors who aren’t used to assessing electrical panels, looking at old electrics can be an unsafe and uncomfortable experience. But it doesn’t have to be. Your job as a Solar Surveyor is not to become an electrical expert; it’s to collect the right data so Designers can do their job. In order to do that, you need some background context and must know how to keep yourself safe.