Field guide

Everything you need before your first walk-in

The job is to put clear information where people already are, and to be honest about what you do and don't know. That is genuinely the whole thing.

What we do, and what we don't

Solar Strive connects people who are curious about solar with a licensed installation partner. We do not sell, permit, or install solar, and we never give a professional opinion about someone's property — no numbers for their roof, no judgment about whether their panel or their structure can take it. That is the licensed partner's work, and saying so plainly is part of yours.

We also don't knock on doors. Everything we do happens because someone got curious on their own and chose to scan a code. If you find yourself persuading somebody, stop — that is not the job, and it is not what we want.

Opening a conversation

You will rarely need to start one. The materials do that work — someone notices the logo, or asks what you're carrying. The most common opener people report is simply: “So what else do you do?”

Comfortable to say

  • I help local businesses share solar information with their customers.
  • I’m promoting the solar industry and community resilience work in this area.
  • There’s a code on the card — scan it and it explains everything, no obligation.
  • I don’t sell solar. If you want numbers for your own roof, a professional does that part.

Never say

  • Anything with a price, a payback period, or a percentage in it.
  • A promise about what a system will produce or save.
  • “You qualify for…” — nobody qualifies for anything through us.
  • Anything that implies we assess, permit, install, or inspect a property.

The reason for the right-hand column isn't caution for its own sake. A number you can't stand behind, said once at a counter, is the fastest way to lose a host and mislead a neighbour.

Placement checklist

Work through this on site. Every box matters, but the host's name is the one that makes the record mean anything.

  1. 1

    Find the right kind of spot

    • Somewhere people already wait or linger — a counter, a waiting area, a noticeboard.
    • Coffee shops, barbers, bakeries, hardware stores, libraries and community centres work best.
    • Visible without being in the way of the business’s own flow of trade.
  2. 2

    Ask a real person, and get their name

    • Speak to an owner or manager — not whoever happens to be nearest.
    • Write down the name of the person who said yes. This is the one thing we cannot do without.
    • Ask where they would like it, rather than telling them where it goes.
    • A no is a fine outcome. Thank them and move on — we are not here to persuade anyone.
  3. 3

    Document it while you are standing there

    • Photograph the placement in position, and the storefront so the location is identifiable.
    • Capture GPS on the spot — it is the proof you were actually there.
    • Note the surface type and roughly how many cards or flyers it holds.
    • Note anything a future visit should know: best time to call in, quiet days, who to ask for.
  4. 4

    Come back

    • Check in every few weeks. Materials are meant to be taken — that is the point.
    • Count what has gone. Cards and flyers separately, so we learn which one people pick up.
    • Restock, tidy the display, and thank whoever is on shift.
    • If it has been moved or removed, record that honestly. A dead spot we know about is useful.

What good evidence looks like

Your submission is a record that a real person at a real business agreed to something. Treat it that way and it will hold up; treat it as paperwork and it won't.

  • The host's name, spelled properly. Not “the manager”. If you didn't catch it, go back and ask.
  • A photo showing the placement in context — enough of the surroundings that someone else could find it again.
  • GPS captured on site, not from the car afterwards. Accuracy is recorded alongside it, so a vague fix is visible as a vague fix.
  • Honest notes, including the awkward ones. “Owner was hesitant, asked us to try again after the holidays” is more useful than a tidy record that isn't true.

Photos are hashed and their details recorded; the images themselves aren't stored yet, because they picture someone else's premises and we haven't settled how long to keep them.

Solar in five minutes

Enough to answer a question honestly, and to know when to say “that's a question for the professional” — which is most of the time, and is always an acceptable answer.

Which way should panels face?
The sun crosses the sky east to west and sits to the south of us. A south-facing roof presents the most surface to it, so it produces the most. East and west still work — they just do their best work in the morning or the evening rather than the middle of the day. North is the weak one.
What are “peak sun hours”?
The middle part of the day when the sun is highest and strongest — roughly 10 to 5 in summer, 11 to 3 in winter. Shade outside those hours matters much less than people assume, which is why even a partly wooded lot can still be worth looking at.
Does a bit of tilt or angle matter much?
Less than people expect. Small differences in pitch and tilt do not change the outcome dramatically. Direction and shade matter far more.
What makes a roof a poor candidate?
Age and shade, mostly. A roof near the end of its life usually wants replacing first, and heavy shading across peak hours is hard to work around. Both are judgments for the professional, not for us — we just know enough to recognise when it is worth someone looking.
How long does this equipment last?
Equipment warranties typically run 25 to 30 years. That is part of why it is a considered purchase and not something anybody should be rushed into.

On incentives: federal and state programs change, and the numbers in older material are already out of date. Don't quote a percentage from memory. Point people at the consultation and let someone whose job it is give them a current answer.

What you agreed to

I am applying to do field work for Solar Strive: asking local businesses whether they will host printed materials, and documenting the ones that agree. I understand that (1) I represent Solar Strive when I do this and will be straightforward about who I am and why I am there; (2) I will only document a location after a named person at that business has actually given permission, and I will not misrepresent that permission; (3) I am an independent participant, not an employee, and this application does not create a job, a guarantee of work, or a guarantee of payment; (4) Solar Strive has not yet paid anyone for this work and I am not relying on any promised amount; and (5) I will not do residential door-to-door solicitation under the Solar Strive name.

This is the exact text stored with your application — not a summary of it.

Haven't applied yet? The work is open to anyone who signs up.

Apply to do field work →