AI exposure: Solar Photovoltaic Installers
Assemble, install, or maintain solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on roofs or other structures in compliance with site assessment and schematics. May include measuring, cutting, assembling, and bolting structural framing and solar modules. May perform minor electrical work such as current checks.
Reading this score
computedAt 12.8% of weighted task load, Solar Photovoltaic Installers sits at the 20th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 71.8% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 26 tasks it averages 2.23 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Compile or maintain records of system operation, performance, and maintenance, at 50.0%. The least is Install active solar systems, at 0.0%. A gap of 50.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within construction and extraction occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 61 roles in the group is 5.0%, and only 6 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 26 tasks, 4 are currently banded exposed, 6 assisted and 16 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 1.15 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.23 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.44 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.87 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.60 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.98 | 0-3 |
Task by task
26 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compile or maintain records of system operation, performance, and maintenance. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.77 | exposed |
| Determine materials, equipment, and installation sequences necessary to maximize installation efficiency. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.35 | exposed |
| Determine appropriate sizes, ratings, and locations for all system overcurrent devices, disconnect devices, grounding equipment, and surge suppression equipment. | 35.0% | 40.0% | 25.0% | 4.31 | assisted |
| Identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays. | 30.0% | 45.0% | 25.0% | 4.46 | assisted |
| Diagram layouts and locations for photovoltaic (PV) arrays and equipment, including existing building or site features. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.36 | exposed |
| Examine designs to determine current requirements for all parts of the photovoltaic (PV) system electrical circuit. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.19 | exposed |
| Identify methods for laying out, orienting, and mounting modules or arrays to ensure efficient installation, electrical configuration, or system maintenance. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.12 | assisted |
| Determine connection interfaces for additional subpanels or for connecting photovoltaic (PV) systems with utility services or other power generation sources. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.08 | assisted |
| Determine photovoltaic (PV) system designs or configurations based on factors such as customer needs, expectations, and site conditions. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 4.03 | assisted |
| Select mechanical designs, installation equipment, or installation plans that conform to environmental, architectural, structural, site, and code requirements. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 3.96 | assisted |
| Test operating voltages to ensure operation within acceptable limits for power conditioning equipment, such as inverters and controllers. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 4.33 | untouched |
| Check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.57 | untouched |
| Activate photovoltaic (PV) systems to verify system functionality and conformity to performance expectations. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.27 | untouched |
| Visually inspect and test photovoltaic (PV) modules or systems. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.23 | untouched |
| Demonstrate system functionality and performance, including start-up, shut-down, normal operation, and emergency or bypass operations. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.18 | untouched |
| Measure and analyze system performance and operating parameters to assess operating condition of systems or equipment. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.12 | untouched |
| Install photovoltaic (PV) systems in accordance with codes and standards, using drawings, schematics, and instructions. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.63 | untouched |
| Identify electrical, environmental, and safety hazards associated with photovoltaic (PV) installations. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.54 | untouched |
| Assemble solar modules, panels, or support structures, as specified. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.45 | untouched |
| Apply weather sealing to array, building, or support mechanisms. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.44 | untouched |
| Install module array interconnect wiring, implementing measures to disable arrays during installation. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.44 | untouched |
| Install required labels on solar system components and hardware. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.37 | untouched |
| Identify and resolve any deficiencies in photovoltaic (PV) system installation or materials. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.25 | untouched |
| Program, adjust, or configure inverters and controls for desired set points and operating modes. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 4.10 | untouched |
| Perform routine photovoltaic (PV) system maintenance on modules, arrays, batteries, power conditioning equipment, safety systems, structural systems, weather sealing, or balance of systems equipment. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.89 | untouched |
| Install active solar systems, including solar collectors, concentrators, pumps, or fans. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.87 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.