All businesses / Solar panel installation

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Start a solar panel installation: the real numbers

Fitting domestic systems. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€15,000–€60,000

Hours / week

30–55

First income

~12 wks

Net margin

30%

Saturation

medium

Realistic ceiling

€1,500–€6,000+

This ceiling is not a wall

The figure above is what this earns in the shape described — you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.

What nobody usually tells you

Demand backed by policy for the next decade, and jobs are €6-15k each. But certification, scaffolding and stock mean serious capital, and margins are being squeezed hard by large national installers.

The route, in five steps

  1. Get the certification — without it you cannot sign off systems
  2. Subcontract for an installer for one season first
  3. Quote the whole job: panels, inverter, scaffolding, paperwork
  4. Partner with an electrician rather than hiring one
  5. Winter is quieter; bank the summer

What you'll need to buy

These are the categories every solar panel installation pays for in the first month. We break down what each one actually costs at this size on the tools page.

certificationvantools and scaffoldinginsurancestock

Does it hold up for you?

These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your capital, your hours and how long you can wait — put them in and see.

Run my numbers → See the tool stack