Post by Hervé Billiet, MBA

9 ways to diversify your solar business before Jan 2026 (and how to choose the best option for you): The 30% residential ITC ends December 31, 2025. If you're a solar company, it's time to refresh your diversification options and see what fits your market. Here are all 9, and how to pick the right one for your business: 1/ O&M services. Recurring revenue from systems you already installed. Lightwave Solar now has more O&M staff than install crews. Aging systems need maintenance, and it's steady cash flow while new installs fluctuate. 2/ Battery storage. Standard pairing at this point. In 2024, US residential storage grew 57% while solar stayed flat. Some Sunvoy clients now lead with batteries for backup, then add solar to refuel them economically. 3/ Energy monitors. Entry product for data-conscious homeowners. Shows real-time usage per circuit. Acts as a wedge into the home before selling solar. Sunvoy already integrates with Shelly, Emporia, and others. 4/ Roofing. Easiest diversification if you're sales-focused. Outsource installs to a local partner first. Learn where mistakes happen. Bring it in-house after 10-20 jobs. Fast cash flow, no permitting or interconnection. 5/ HVAC & heat pumps. Higher technical lift, but bigger market. People need heating and cooling regardless of policy. At my previous company, I got my HVAC license to understand the differences. Predictable, profitable, mature. 6/ Solar thermal / hot water heaters. Niche premium add-on. 60-70% efficient at converting sunlight to heat. Making a comeback for high-end clients and pool owners. Only makes sense with plumbing crews or HVAC overlap. 7/ Hardware distribution. Leverage buying power to supply smaller installers. A UK-based installer doing $32M/year buys direct from manufacturers and resells locally. Only works at scale ($20M+ revenue) with warehouse infrastructure. 8/ C&I. Several resi installers are taking on commercial work. Logical step, but harder than you'd think. (Link to resi vs commercial breakdown in comments.) 9/ Pre-paid PPA, TPO & financing options. Time to explore new financial products. The landscape has changed, with options like HDM's pre-paid PPAs making headlines. — How to choose: Sales-focused CEO? → Start with roofing. Sell the service, outsource the work. Learn, then bring ops in-house. Ops-focused CEO? → Start with HVAC or O&M. Build service capacity first, then train your team to sell it. Already doing batteries? → Add energy monitors as an entry product. Or explore solar thermal for premium differentiation. Want to move upmarket? → Test C&I with 1-2 small commercial projects before committing crews. Looking for margin without adding headcount? → Explore pre-paid PPAs or TPO partnerships for more financing flexibility. — Pick one direction. Start small. Get 5-10 jobs under your belt before the ITC deadline. Then scale what works. — Which option are you testing first?