Predictions for the growth of the solar industry in America are looking good these days. The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, last year’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the proliferation of several supportive state-level incentives, are delivering a significant boost to the renewable energy industry.
Considering that the industry has been facing a string of policy and supply chain-related challenges, this was a much-needed push towards adopting sustainable energy options. Solar accounted for half of all new electricity-generating capacity added in the US in Q1 2022 and is predicted to reach 20% of total electricity generation by 2050.
However, solar soft costs, the non-hardware expenses of deploying solar, remain problematic for many solar and storage businesses. Overall system costs for solar dropped by 25% in the past seven years, while soft costs account for 65% of the total costs for residential solar and 57% of the total costs for commercial rooftop solar.
The problem of solar soft costs
Soft costs include expenses for system design and installation, administration, permitting and inspections, and supply chain and transaction fees. They also involve the cost of acquiring customers, such as sales and marketing, lead buying, and vetting prospects. These costs impact the company’s bottom line and impede its ability to compete in a crowded market and comfortably scale.
The digitization and the automation of your field service operations using Field Service Management software can be an effective way to take a bite out of these expenses.
A comprehensive look at field service management and soft costs
This new eBook, How Field Service Management Helps Lower Solar Soft Costs, details what a field service management (FSM) solution can do to address the burden of soft costs for solar and energy storage businesses. It discusses how FSM cuts cost around the installation process through comprehensive workflow creation, real-time communication between office and field staff and customers, and an ability to make data-driven business decisions using analytics and reporting.
The document also examines how digitizing paperwork, data, and processes help your business. Additionally, it looks at how FSM grants greater access to low-cost, high-quality leads through a superior customer experience and the development of knowledge-based sales and marketing campaigns. Finally, the eBook addresses the role of FSM in cost-saving around asset and inventory management.
