Ask a homeowner about a battery install and they picture one day with a box going on the garage wall. On your board it is usually a site visit, a design and permit wait, an install day that is mostly electrical work, and an inspection, with a utility step in some places. If the battery comes with new solar, it also has to fit around the roof crew.
The scheduling problem is not any single visit. It is the order, and which of those dates you actually control.
Three kinds of battery job
| Job type | Who is on site | What sets the date |
|---|---|---|
| Battery only, no solar | Electrician or electrical crew | Your crew, then the inspector |
| Battery added to existing solar | Electrical crew, sometimes a solar tech | Your crew, the inspector, and any utility step |
| Battery with new solar | Roof crew and electrical crew | The roof crew's day, the electrical day, inspections |
Most of the work on a battery install is electrical: mounting the unit, wiring to the panel or a backup loads panel, and connecting to any existing inverter. Who is allowed to do that work depends on your state's licensing rules, so check with your state board. On the board, it means the electrical crew is usually the scheduling unit, not the roof crew.
Who controls each date
Only some of the dates are yours.
- Site visit. Yours, with the homeowner. One person checks the panel, the mounting location, the run to the panel and anything else your design needs.
- Design and permit. Office work and the local permit office. It sets the earliest install date, and you don't fully control it.
- Equipment. The battery, any backup panel and the mounting hardware. Book the install against a confirmed delivery, not an expected one.
- Install. Yours. Often one crew-day for a standalone battery; more when it comes with solar or a service upgrade.
- Inspection. The inspector's window. Requirements vary by jurisdiction.
- Utility step. Some grid-tied systems need utility approval before they operate. That date is the utility's.
Book the install crew only when steps 2 and 3 are real. A crew that shows up to a site with no permit or no battery is the most expensive day on the board.
Site visits are route work
Like solar surveys and EV charger assessments, battery site visits are short and spread across a wide area. A single person's daily capacity is set more by the drive between visits than by the visits themselves.
Two habits help:
- Cluster by area and day. If the site visitor is in one part of the territory on Wednesday, offer Wednesday to new customers there first.
- Pair visits with nearby work. A battery site visit near an existing customer's service call is a cheap stop. Far from anything else, it is a long drive for a short visit.
Battery with new solar: two crews, one sequence
When the battery comes with a new solar system, the solar install page describes the roof crew's part. The battery adds an electrical day that has to line up with it.
Common setups:
- Same day, two crews. The roof crew works the array while the electrical crew mounts the battery and does the panel work. Both crews need real start times, and the electrical crew may finish first.
- Electrical day after the roof. The roof crew finishes, and the electrical crew comes on the next working day. This keeps the crews independent but adds a second truck roll to the same address.
- One combined crew. Works for smaller systems if the crew includes someone qualified for the electrical work.
The first is the cheapest in drive time and the hardest to schedule. The second is the easiest to schedule and pays for two trips. Decide by distance: on a far site, the extra trip costs more.
A worked example: one extra trip
Illustrative numbers. A two-person electrical crew, $55 loaded hourly cost per person, site 70 minutes from the shop.
Extra trip cost = Crew size × Round-trip drive hours × Loaded hourly cost
On a site 15 minutes away, the same extra trip costs about $55. Distance decides whether coordinating two crews on one day is worth the effort. Run your own numbers, and see crew-day for how drive time comes off each day on site.
Inspections and the utility
Inspection windows are set by the inspector. If your electrician has to attend, hold that window as a fixed block at the address and keep short, nearby work for the rest of the day in case the inspector is early or late. The electrical page covers how permitted work and inspection windows shape the week.
If a utility approval is needed before the system can run, don't book a commissioning or walkthrough visit until it comes through. Promising the homeowner a "turn on" date that belongs to the utility is a common source of unhappy calls.
How CrewLink handles battery installation scheduling
CrewLink offers only start times a qualified crew can reach, with the drive computed from where the crew will be, the previous job, not the shop. The dispatch board shows month, week and day views, and customers get texts when a booking is confirmed, the day before, and when the tech is on the way. It is in early access for companies running 5 to 50 trucks.
CrewLink does not do system design, permitting, equipment ordering or utility paperwork. If your electrical or roof work is subcontracted, subcontractor scheduling covers sending work into a partner's open times.
What to take away
- Battery jobs come in three types: standalone, add-on to solar, and with new solar. Each has a different crew order.
- The electrical crew is usually the scheduling unit, and who can do that work depends on state licensing.
- Book install days only against a real permit and a confirmed delivery.
- Site visits are route work: cluster by area and day.
- On far sites, put the electrical and roof crews on the same day; on near sites, a second trip is cheap.
Common questions
How long does a home battery installation take to schedule?
The install itself is often a single crew-day for a standalone battery, but the calendar is set by the permit, equipment delivery and inspection. Count from the permit date, not the sale date.
Who installs home batteries, an electrician or a solar crew?
Most of the work is electrical, and who may do it depends on your state's licensing rules. When the battery comes with new solar, both crews are usually involved.
Should the battery be installed the same day as the solar panels?
It saves a trip, which matters on far sites. It is harder to schedule because two crews need real start times. On nearby sites a separate day is often simpler.
How do you schedule battery installs around inspections?
Hold the inspection window as a fixed block for anyone who must attend, and keep short nearby work for the rest of that person's day. Don't promise an operating date that depends on a utility approval you don't control.