How AI Is Transforming Solar Installation with APsystems | The Pitch
What solar installers need to know in 2025: how AI is reshaping design, sales, O&M, and storage—insights from APsystems’ Jason Higginson on The Pitch
Artificial intelligence is showing up in every corner of the solar industry—from proposal software to microinverters—and it’s reshaping how installers work. In this episode of The Pitch, Editor-in-Chief Chris Crowell talks with Jason Higginson, Head of Marketing for North America at APsystems, about how AI tools are improving design, sales, customer service, and long-term system performance. We cover:
- Why AI is no longer optional for solar businesses
- The top AI tools installers should start using right now
- How APsystems is building AI into its microinverters, storage, and APdesigner software
- Real-world impacts on efficiency, customer satisfaction, and profitability
If you’re a solar installer looking to stay competitive in 2025 and beyond, this conversation breaks down what you need to know.
Timestamps
- 0:19 Why AI matters for solar installers now
- 1:35 Where AI is embedded in today’s solar tools
- 2:35 Boosting customer satisfaction and reducing errors
- 3:22 No-brainer AI tools for solar companies
- 4:49 Example of AI-driven design with APdesigner
- 8:15 Is AI good enough to help avoid change orders?
- 9:31 Operational AI in the field: commissioning & troubleshooting
- 11:25 APsystems and AI optimization
- 13:02 AI-powered battery management and time-of-use savings
- 13:46 Manufacturing & background AI applications
- 15:15 Looking ahead: proactive AI tools for solar businesses
- 17:18 AI for O&M, customer follow-ups, and repowering
Why AI matters for solar installers now
Higginson: “AI is no longer optional. As you mentioned, it’s embedded in everything. It’s in tools. It’s in the products that they’re already using—design, management, sales and marketing tools, all that automation as well. And so there’s a direct impact on their ability to be profitable as an installer.”
Where AI is embedded in today’s solar tools
Higginson: “These tools can make installers more competitive since the tools that they’re selling are already AI optimized—and in some cases these installers either don’t know it or aren’t promoting that to the end user. That could have been an edge they could use over a competing bid.”
Operational AI in the field: commissioning & troubleshooting
Higginson: “AI isn’t physically doing anything. But the moment they pick up a device to configure something, to commission, to check status, check communication—these AI tools are hard at work in the background. APsystems also created APbot, which can be used to help answer any installation questions during the process. It can troubleshoot systems, it can troubleshoot errors, and it’s available through our EMA platform.”
Looking ahead: proactive AI tools for solar businesses
Higginson: “They’re going to become more proactive and not just reactive. Imagine a world where you open your email and it says: you’ve received 15 new emails, we’ve prioritized them for you and drafted responses—would you like to review them now? That’s where these productivity tools are heading. In about 12 to 18 months, especially with a tool like Copilot, we’re going to see that next level.”
