A solar install isn't one permit. It's a small constellation of them — building, electrical, sometimes a separate roof permit, sometimes a battery permit. Each city handles it differently. If you're a solar installer or an electrician trying to find work in the sector, the trick is knowing which permit is the trigger, and which ones are just paperwork.
Here's the field guide.
The permit you actually want to watch
In most cities, the electrical permit is the one that signals a solar project. Specifically: an electrical permit with a description containing solar, PV, photovoltaic, or interconnection.
Why electrical and not building? Because most rooftop residential installs don't trigger a building permit at all — the panels are light enough, and the structural review is rolled into the electrical filing. So if you only watch building permits, you'll miss most of the residential solar pipeline.
The exception is ground-mount systems and commercial installs, which usually file under building permits with descriptions like solar array, PV system, or solar canopy. Those are bigger projects ($50K-$5M range) but lower volume.
What a real solar lead looks like
A useful filter for residential solar:
- Permit type:
electrical - Description contains:
solar,PV,photovoltaic,solar interconnect - Valuation: above $5,000 (filters out small panel work)
- Contractor: blank, OR a contractor you know is at capacity
The blank-contractor filter is the lead. If a homeowner files a solar permit themselves, they're usually doing it before signing with an installer (some cities require the permit to be pulled by a licensed contractor — check your local rules). Even if a contractor is listed, that's still useful intel: it tells you which competitors are winning work in which neighborhoods.
What to ignore
Three permit types that look like solar but aren't:
- "Solar water heater" permits. Different product, different installer base, much smaller market.
- Residential electrical service upgrades with no solar mention. These often precede a solar install (the homeowner gets a 200A panel before adding panels), but they're not solar themselves. Worth watching as a leading indicator if you're patient.
- "Solar ready" wiring in new construction. Required by code in many jurisdictions; doesn't mean panels are being installed.
The leading-indicator trick
The most underused signal in solar permit data: panel upgrades. If a homeowner pulls an electrical permit for a 200-amp service upgrade or main panel replacement, there's a meaningful probability they're prepping for solar (or an EV charger, or an ADU). Roughly a third of panel upgrades in major metros are followed by a solar permit within 90 days.
If you're an installer with a sales process that can handle a longer cycle, watching panel upgrades gives you a 60-90 day head start on the actual solar permit.
What it takes to actually close
Permit data gets you in the door. Closing solar bids in 2025 is harder than it was three years ago — federal tax credits are still strong (30% through 2032), but residential financing got more expensive, panel prices have collapsed, and homeowners are quoting four installers instead of two.
What's working for installers:
- Speed. Same-day outreach when a permit is filed. Most installers don't even watch permit data; the ones who do win disproportionately.
- Storage attach rate. Solar-only sales are tougher than they were. Solar+battery is where margin lives.
- Local credibility. Mentioning specific recent installs in the same ZIP closes bids that "we serve all of California" pitches don't.
Where to set up alerts
If you want to track solar permits across one or more cities, The Permit Sheet covers electrical permits across all major US metros and lets you filter by description keyword. Start with a free alert — one city, the keyword filter solar OR PV OR photovoltaic, and see what comes through. If you see five or more useful permits in your first week, the data's there.