Installation and Performance

Photo of a group of men moving a rectangular solar panel.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu watches members of the Solar Instructor Training Network team as they demonstrate a rooftop solar panel installation at the SunShot Grand Challenge Technology Forum. Photo from Dennis Schroeder, NREL PIX 21146

DOE partners with the solar industry to help reduce labor costs and maximize system performance so that solar energy can be more affordable for Americans. Because installation and maintenance can represent a significant portion of the total cost of owning and operating a photovoltaic or concentrating solar power system, program efforts strive to:

Develop a well-trained skilled workforce
Adopt more efficient installation procedures and technologies
Standardize state and local installer requirements
Verify system performance and reliability.

Current Efforts

Below are examples of the awardees, funded by SunShot, that are working to establish installation and performance best practices:

Solar Instructor Training Network
Tigo Energy (Incubator 6)

These awardees are working to reduce balance of systems costs by helping keep a solar energy system operating effectively over its lifetime.