Solar Thermal Installers and Technicians
Install or repair solar energy systems designed to collect, store, and circulate solar-heated water for residential, commercial or industrial use.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Solar Thermal Installers and Technicians. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $44,150 | $21.22 |
| 25th | $50,190 | $24.13 |
| 50th · Median | $63,800 | $30.67 |
| 75th | $85,110 | $40.92 |
| 90th | $108,420 | $52.13 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (7)
Typical tasks
- Test operation or functionality of mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and control systems.
- Apply weather seal, such as pipe flashings and sealants, to roof penetrations and structural devices.
- Install solar collector mounting devices on tile, asphalt, shingle, or built-up gravel roofs, using appropriate materials and penetration methods.
- Install copper or plastic plumbing using pipes, fittings, pipe cutters, acetylene torches, solder, wire brushes, sand cloths, flux, plastic pipe cleaners, or plastic glue.
- Identify plumbing, electrical, environmental, or safety hazards associated with solar thermal installations.
- Demonstrate start-up, shut-down, maintenance, diagnostic, and safety procedures to thermal system owners.
Expand more tasks (15)
- Install circulating pumps using pipe, fittings, soldering equipment, electrical supplies, and hand tools.
- Install flat-plat, evacuated glass, or concentrating solar collectors on mounting devices, using brackets or struts.
- Install solar thermal system controllers and sensors.
- Fill water tanks and check tanks, pipes, and fittings for leaks.
- Design active direct or indirect, passive direct or indirect, or pool solar systems.
- Determine locations for installing solar subsystem components, including piping, water heaters, valves, and ancillary equipment.
- Perform routine maintenance or repairs to restore solar thermal systems to baseline operating conditions.
- Install heat exchangers and heat exchanger fluids according to installation manuals and schematics.
- Apply operation or identification tags or labels to system components, as required.
- Connect water heaters and storage tanks to power and water sources.
- Cut, miter, and glue piping insulation to insulate plumbing pipes and fittings.
- Install plumbing, such as dip tubes, port fittings, drain tank valves, pressure temperature relief valves, or tanks, according to manufacturer specifications and building codes.
- Install monitoring system components, such as flow meters, temperature gauges, and pressure gauges, according to system design and manufacturer specifications.
- Assess collector sites to ensure structural integrity of potential mounting surfaces or the best orientation and tilt for solar collectors.
- Apply ultraviolet radiation protection to prevent degradation of plumbing.
Skills used in this work
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Expand more skills (29)
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
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