So you’re finally thinking about starting your very own business. What are the chances you live in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico or Texas? These states are the top states for solar installation according to Forbes. Many homeowners throughout these states own solar panels, but the largest gap in the solar industry is ‘solar panel cleaning’.
According to Allied Market Research, the solar panel cleaning market size was valued at $0.6 Billion in 2021 and is projected to be at $1.1 Billion in 2031. That is a 6.8% CAGR in 10 years. Think about it, solar energy isn’t going anywhere, if anything, the industry will only get bigger as climate change laws change & the value of solar panels increases. Why not start your solar panel cleaning business now, then in 10 years, be one of the top solar panel cleaners in your state?
In this article, we’ll discuss licensing & registration for your solar panel cleaning business, the best equipment based on your budget, the best marketing techniques, and how to price your solar panel cleaning services.
Here in California, the average solar panel cleaner makes $19/hour. The highest-paid solar panel cleaner makes around $30/hour. It’s important to note that these are how much the employees make but the business owner could easily make $100 - $200/hour.
We are going to discuss the pricing behind solar panel cleaning further so you get a better idea of how much a solar panel cleaning business owner makes. If you scale your business to a point where you hire employees, you can expect to pay them between $19 to $30/hour.
Solar panel cleaning falls under “specialty cleaning contractor” licensing conditions. It is recommended that you get a ‘Specialty Cleaning Contractor’ license before you start your business, but from our experience, it isn’t needed unless you’re cleaning commercial properties. Homeowners typically don’t care about the licensing for a service this simple and even though our company has a license, we’ve never been asked to show proof.
You may be interested in expanding your business into different services like pressure washing and window cleaning. In that case, it would be even better to have the license.
If you’re starting your own business, it is important you get a business license to operate in whatever state you plan on working in. This way you can file your taxes, income and apply for loans in the future.
Finally, licensing is a great way to stand out in the solar panel cleaning business. Most solar panel cleaning business owners don’t own a specialty cleaning contractor license. You could utilize your license as a marketing or sales angel to increase the trust between you and your clients.
There are different methods of cleaning solar panels. Other methods of solar panel cleaning require different types of equipment. We will discuss the different types of cleaning methods and then move on to the best types of equipment for each method.
To clean solar panels, you can use professional filtration systems and water-fed poles or you can use a hose, sprayer, an extended pole, and soft brush. The method of cleaning completely depends on your budget. If you’re starting a solar panel cleaning business, we recommend you invest a few thousand dollars into your equipment as it will speed up the process, allow you to do a better job, and complete multiple jobs in a day.
At your local hardware store, you should purchase an extension pole. We recommend the brand ‘Unger’ as it is cheap and the pole extends up to 30 feet. You also need to get a soft, flat pad that will connect to the extension pole. Finally, you also need to purchase a solar panel cleaning solution from a store like Home Depot.
If you’re planning on starting your solar panel cleaning business, we highly suggest you invest in a water-fed pole and RO/DI filtration system such as the Xero Pure. The DIY method works for homeowners on a budget, but if you’re planning on turning this cleaning method into a business, you need professional-level equipment. The good thing is, you can get all the required equipment for less than $3,000 so the initial investment isn’t as large as you think.
The benefit of a water-fed pole system is that the water is filtered to 0ppm (Parts Per Million) so you don’t have to worry about purchasing solutions or streaks.
As you can see, the professional system requires much less steps and does a much better job. If you tried starting your business with the DIY method, you would spend more time trying to clean, fixing problems, and going back than if you just invested in quality equipment early on.
Marketing is always going to be the most important part of business, especially solar panel cleaning. You can have the best truck, the best logo, and the best equipment but with bad marketing, you won’t make any money. There are two different types of marketing: “Digital marketing and Brand Marketing”.
The reason I categorize digital marketing differently from brand marketing is that digital marketing is really the only way to pay for ‘results’. I don’t mean that brand marketing doesn’t produce results, but instead that you can set digital marketing goals on platforms like Google & Facebook to produce conversions rather than just awareness towards your brand.
Brand marketing includes things like door hangers, yard signs, business cards, and organic social marketing like TikTok, Facebook Groups & Nextdoor. You cannot purchase yard signs and then understand exactly how your money is being spent, where it is being spent, and how many conversions they’ve produced but it is a sure-fire way to get people to ‘see’ your brand.
Digital marketing can and is a great way to generate brand awareness. It’s actually better than things like yard signs and door hangers because you can reach millions of people without doing anything. However, due to the nature of the solar panel cleaning business - you really shouldn't be spending money on brand awareness via Google or Facebook because we are offering a service, not a product that can be purchased in stores.
Digital marketing is the best way to produce conversions because everything is tracked. You can see who is clicking on your ads, test different creatives and copy, and adjust your budget based on data-driven insights.
Brand marketing is going to be great if you’re just trying to get ‘brand touches’. I refer to brand touches as whenever somebody sees your brand. The more brand touches you can get on a single person, the higher the likelihood they are to convert into an actual customer. For example, a homeowner sees your yard sign on a busy street, they then sees your door hanger on their door handle, and finally, they open up Facebook and see your ad with a direct CTA (Call-To-Action). The odds that a person will convert into a customer are much higher than if they just saw your sign and called directly.
Getting on platforms like Google My Business is a must for any service area business especially solar panel cleaning because the keyword ‘Solar Panel Cleaning’ has very high-intent. Ask yourself this, how many people are searching up ‘solar panel cleaning near me’ and they don’t have solar panels or are actively looking for a cleaner?
That is why digital marketing, and especially Google, is so powerful for service area businesses like solar panel cleaning because people aren’t going onto Facebook to search for the service but they will search Google. Always remember direct marketing is 10x the power than indirect marketing.
The reason we suggest Google My Business is because the platform is free to join and as you grow your reputation and reviews, you will begin to rank higher in the results for ‘solar panel cleaning’. The calls will come in and you don’t have to pay for them.
Solar panel cleaning pricing is based on the location of the homeowner and also the state. In California, especially the Bay Area, we can charge much more as the average income is significantly higher than somewhere in New Mexico.
You have to base your prices around competitors in your area. We suggest you call up competitors and get a price based on 30 panels for a single-story roof. Then on a different phone, call them up for 30 panels on a double-story roof. Try to get an idea of their pricing structure and emulate them.
When you’re just starting out, you need to be under the average price of your competitors because you haven’t built up your client list and reputation.
Yes, solar panel cleaning is a very profitable business because it has almost no competition and the start-up expenses and on-going expenses are extremely low. Once you’ve paid off your equipment, the only active expenses are marketing and gas.
As time goes on, you can lower your marketing expenses as you begin to produce more clients organically through reviews, referrals, Google My Business, Facebook Page, Nextdoor, and SEO.
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