

Ask YC: Non web startup - solar? - johnnycage

Hi there. I have a small startup that brings in enough money (and a little more) to fund my lifestyle. With the awareness now of high energy prices I'm wondering about starting up a company installing solar panels for residential use.  Anyone have any knowledge of this and do youthink its a good/crazy idea.  This is a tech-related forum generally so I thought I'd ask :) Hope you don't mind!!
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brk
My first reaction is: be wary!

Not that it's a bad idea, but that retrofit residential stuff is such a pain
in the ass (been there, done that (home automation and security
installations)).

If you do pursue this, I would suggest you do what I figured out rather
quickly: concentrate on only new construction and only custom homes. Forget
the retrofit, and forget the tract-home developers where the builders just
want to turn the units quickly and not get the homebuyers distracted with
fancy add-ons.

Also, depending on what state you're in, certifications and regulations can be
cumbersome also. And lastly (well, not last, I could go on about this for
days...) if you haven't done this before, getting decent E&O and general
liability insurance will be somewhere between expensive and impossible, many
insurers don't want to insure someone with no experience running around a
$400K jobsite with fancy power tools and equipment.

All the above being said, I would still say go for it under the right
conditions. I personally find "hardware" startups 100 times more challenging
and rewarding than web-app or general software startups. No offense to the
software guys, it's just a whole different world when you are producing or
working with physical goods.

If you do pursue it, contact me offline and I might be able to give you some
advice and pointers about things, plus some other products you could
carry/install that go along with the energy conservation theme.

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Feynman
Actually, there's a few companies out here in California that come out and
install Solar panels on your roof with no cost to you. You use what you need
for your house, then I guess they make money by selling off the excess power.
I'm not totally sure how it all works but I do have a couple coworkers who
swear by it.

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kynikos
BRK hit a few good points right on the nose.

It's definitely a burgeoning industry, but you really do need a decent amount
of certification to be taken seriously. I used to work in clean energy and it
is becoming somewhat of a crowded field, especially for residential solar.
You'd be setting yourself up for some strong future business, but right now
the costs of solar installation for homeowners is quite high, especially
considering the federal tax credit for solar systems is about to expire. There
might be some more incentives that will drive increased use under the next
president, but there likely won't be much within the next half-year.

Not sure how things are where you live, but the geographic market I was
working in saw mostly retrofits and very little integration with new
construction. As the cost of producing solar panels continues to decrease,
you'll be strengthening your position, but until that happens you likely won't
be making very much money.

Another thing to consider is the proliferation of larger solar companies that
operate on a franchise model and include service and maintenance into the cost
of the system.

If you're very passionate about clean energy and have the time to dedicate
over the next 5-10 years, I say go for it, otherwise you won't see very strong
returns. Just my 2c...

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pjackson
I think it's a good idea. However, as with any venture, do your homework.

Research the market size, the barriers to entry, the competition, how you
might differentiate yourself, the threat of a disruptive technology making you
obsolete, etc.

The solar panels currently in widespread use are:

* Expensive * Limited in Capacity * Fragile-ish

So if I were you, I'd be looking at third-gen solar and finding ways to bring
that to people in ways your competition cannot.

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jbryanscott
Check out NanoSolar. They have built solar cell printing technology that
prints much faster and much cheaper than anything else on the market. The
material installs somewhat like wallpaper.

<http://www.nanosolar.com/>

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vaksel
I'm pretty sure this is already being done on a large scale, so I'm guessing
the concept has been proven. I believe energy companies also subsidize
households that go this way, so you can use that for marketing etc

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altay
i know some folks who'd be good to talk to. toss me an email and i'll put you
in touch.

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noodle
sounds like a good idea for a small service business. some markets would be
better suited for it than others, though.

