Solar installer screening questions: roof work, fall protection, electrical scope and NABCEP
On this page
- Match the install type before the candidate
- Licensing and credentials: what is required, what is optional
- Knockout questions
- Install questions: what they did themselves
- Electrical and code questions
- Safety at height
- Pace, crew and reliability
- A 15-minute phone-screen flow
- How solar experience gets overstated
- Legal cautions
- Questions people ask
Solar installer screening questions should establish what kind of installs the candidate has done (residential roofs, commercial roofs or ground-mount), what part of the install they did themselves (racking, modules, wiring, inverters and batteries), how they worked safely at height, and what electrical work they are licensed to do in the job's state. Then check pace and reliability: how many systems their crew installed a week, and whether they can travel. A candidate who carried modules for six months and one who led a crew wiring rapid shutdown systems both "installed solar"; the questions below separate them.
If the job is primarily electrical (the person who lands conductors, sets inverters and signs off the electrical side), add the license questions in electrician screening questions. For roof carpentry and structural work, carpenter screening questions cover tools and layout.
Match the install type before the candidate
Ask the client three things before you screen. Is the work residential rooftop, commercial rooftop, or ground-mount and utility-scale? Which roof types (composition shingle, tile, metal, flat membrane)? And does the role include electrical work, batteries or service calls? Residential crews move fast on steep roofs with small systems; utility-scale crews repeat the same racking and module work over large sites with heavy equipment and long travel. Screen for the one on the order.
Licensing and credentials: what is required, what is optional
- Electrical licensing is set by the state and sometimes the city. In many places the electrical connections must be made by a licensed electrician or under a licensed contractor, while installers do racking and modules. California's contractors board, for example, has a C-46 Solar contractor classification for installing, modifying, maintaining and repairing solar energy systems. Check the job's jurisdiction and ask exactly what the candidate is allowed to do there.
- NABCEP credentials are voluntary. NABCEP's certifications page lists the PV Installation Professional board certification, the PV Associate and the Operations & Maintenance Associate Technician credentials, and an Energy Storage Installation Professional certification. PV Installation Professional applicants document 10 hours of OSHA construction outreach training, advanced PV training and qualifying installations, or take a Board Eligible route that allows three years to complete the experience after passing the exam.
- OSHA 10 or 30 cards show awareness training. OSHA says the cards are not a certification or license.
Knockout questions
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flags |
|---|---|---|
| 1. This role is [residential rooftop / commercial / ground-mount]. How many months have you worked on that type, and how recently? | A number and dates: "Fourteen months on residential crews, through July, mostly comp shingle and some tile." | Solar experience from a different type only, described as the same. |
| 2. The work is on roofs up to [pitch and stories], in all seasons. Can you perform that work, with or without accommodation? | A plain yes, often with a detail from past roofs. | None from the answer. Do not ask about fear of heights as a medical question. |
| 3. What electrical work are you licensed to do in [state]? | "None, I'm an installer; our electrician landed the conductors." Or a license type and number to verify. | Claims to do all the wiring with no license, in a state that requires one. |
| 4. The role requires [a valid driver's license, travel for overnight jobs, a start time of 6 a.m.]. Does that work? | Yes to each, or a specific exception. | Cannot get to the yard at start time, with no plan. |
Install questions: what they did themselves
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flags |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Walk me through a typical residential install from arriving at the house to cleaning up. | A sequence: safety set-up and anchors, layout from the plan set, locating rafters, flashing and attaching mounts, rails, grounding and bonding, modules, wire management, conduit run, inverter or optimizers, clean-up and photos. | Starts with "we put the panels up." Skips flashing and layout. |
| 6. How did you locate rafters and seal roof penetrations, and what did you do on tile roofs? | Finds rafters from the attic, measurements or a locator; uses the specified flashing and sealant; knows tile needs replacement hooks or tile-specific mounts and careful handling. | Drills where the layout falls and seals with caulk only. |
| 7. Which racking systems and module-level electronics have you installed? | Names systems and products they used regularly, and where the manufacturer's instructions made a difference. | Brand names from the job ad, no install details. |
| 8. Have you installed battery storage? What was your part? | Specific: mounting, clearances, conduit, commissioning with the electrician, and the product. | "Batteries are the same as panels." |
Electrical and code questions
Solar electrical work is covered by the National Electrical Code's article on photovoltaic systems, as adopted locally, including rapid shutdown requirements for systems on buildings. You do not need to judge the answers technically; listen for whether the candidate describes checks and inspections as routine.
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flags |
|---|---|---|
| 9. How did your crew handle rapid shutdown and labeling on the last systems you installed? | Describes the equipment used for rapid shutdown and the labels the inspector checks. | Has never heard of rapid shutdown, for rooftop work. |
| 10. What did you check before the inspector arrived, and what failed an inspection on a job you worked? | A checklist (grounding, torque marks, wire management, labels, clearances) and a specific failure that was fixed. | "We never failed," or the inspector was always wrong. |
| 11. Modules generate voltage in daylight. How did you work safely with them? | Treats conductors as energized, keeps connectors covered or disconnected, follows lockout procedures on the AC side, uses the right meter and PPE. | Casual about connecting strings in the sun. |
Safety at height
OSHA's construction standard at 29 CFR 1926.501 generally requires fall protection for employees working 6 feet or more above a lower level, including residential construction, through guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems, with limited exceptions under a written fall protection plan.
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flags |
|---|---|---|
| 12. On your last roof, how were you tied off, and where was the anchor? | Harness, lanyard or rope grab, a roof anchor installed before work started, and inspected gear. | "Only on steep roofs," or "the lead decides." |
| 13. How did you get modules and material onto the roof? | Ladder hoist or lift, a secured ladder extending above the eave, no carrying modules up a ladder by hand. | Carried modules up the ladder as normal practice. |
| 14. What did your crew do on very hot days or in high wind? | Water, shade and rest breaks, earlier starts, stopping module handling in wind. | "We push through." |
Pace, crew and reliability
| Question | What a strong answer sounds like | Red flags |
|---|---|---|
| 15. How big was your crew, and how many systems did it install in a typical week? | Crew size, typical system size and a number that fits: a crew of three installing a few residential systems a week, depending on size and roof. | A number that does not survive arithmetic for the crew size. |
| 16. Have you led a crew? What did you check before leaving a job? | Yes or no; if yes, a walk-around, photos, tools counted, homeowner informed, paperwork done. | Called themselves lead because they had the most time on the crew. |
A 15-minute phone-screen flow
- Minutes 0 to 2: the install type, roofs, crew, travel, start time and pay.
- Minutes 2 to 5: knockouts 1 to 4.
- Minutes 5 to 9: questions 5 and 6, plus 7 or 8 depending on the order.
- Minutes 9 to 12: one electrical and two safety questions.
- Minutes 12 to 15: pace and crew questions, then next steps, including any paid ride-along. How to run a job trial day covers how to make that fair.
How solar experience gets overstated
- Ground crew as installer. Staging material on the ground described as rooftop installation. Ask how many days a week they were on the roof.
- Wiring by proximity. Working next to the electrician described as doing the electrical work.
- Utility-scale as residential. Repetitive module setting on a large site presented as full residential installs.
- NABCEP in progress. A course listed as a certification. Ask which credential, and when it was issued.
Legal cautions
Ask whether the candidate can perform the roof work and lifting with or without accommodation, not about their health, weight or injuries. Ask about licenses held, not age. If you run driving record checks for company vehicles or drug tests, follow the rules that apply to each; see drug testing laws in hiring. The full list of questions to avoid is in illegal interview questions. To find more candidates with electrical backgrounds, the Boolean search strings for electricians can be adapted with solar terms.
Questions people ask
Does a solar installer need NABCEP certification?
Not by law in most places. NABCEP's PV Installation Professional is a voluntary board certification, and its eligibility includes OSHA 10-hour construction training, advanced PV training and documented installations. Some employers and programs ask for it for lead installers. Entry-level installers may hold the PV Associate credential or none.
Who is allowed to do the electrical work on a solar installation?
It depends on the state and sometimes the city. Many jurisdictions require a licensed electrician or a licensed contractor for the electrical connections, while racking and module installation can be done by installers working under the contractor. California, for example, has a C-46 Solar contractor classification. Check the licensing board where the work will be done.
What fall protection rules apply to rooftop solar installers?
OSHA's construction standard at 29 CFR 1926.501 generally requires fall protection for employees working 6 feet or more above a lower level, including in residential construction, through guardrails, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems, with limited exceptions under a written fall protection plan. Ask candidates how they anchored and tied off on their last roof.
Is an OSHA 10 card a safety certification?
No. OSHA describes its Outreach Training Program cards as awareness training, not a certification or license. It is still useful evidence, and NABCEP requires 10 hours of OSHA construction outreach training for its PV Installation Professional certification.