Install

Installing solar is the part where a plan becomes panels on a roof — or a deck, or a van. This branch covers the actual build, and it forks at the first and biggest decision: are you doing the work yourself, or hiring it out?

• DIY — you source the components, mount the array, run the wiring, and pull the permits, paying yourself the labor that makes up roughly half a professional quote. It splits into home systems (grid-tied, hybrid, off-grid) and mobile systems (portable, RV and van, boat). The branch teaches each build end to end.
• Pro — you hire a company to design and build the system, and your job becomes choosing a good installer, reading the proposal and contract critically, and overseeing the project through to Permission to Operate. A shared installer core covers the process; short per-system notes cover what changes by system type.

Pick the path that matches your skills, time, and appetite for responsibility — and know you can read both. The DIY branches show you exactly what the work involves (useful even if you ultimately hire out), and the Pro branch shows you how to hold an installer to a good job (useful even if you’re handy).

One constant runs through every install, DIY or Pro: the electrical tie-in and the permitting are the most code-sensitive, jurisdiction-specific parts of the job, and they’re where understanding the process matters most — whether you’re doing it or watching it get done. These sections teach the method and the variables; they don’t replace a licensed electrician or your local authority where those are required.