How to get solar leads without door knocking (using permit data)

Door-knocking built a lot of Florida solar companies. It's getting harder: homeowners are warier of anyone selling at the door, and after years of aggressive solar sales, many have already said no once. Cold calls and texts carry real legal risk under the federal TCPA and Florida's own telemarketing law.

The installers doing well in 2026 are knocking less and choosing better. Here's how to use public records to do that.

1. Start from a trigger, not a neighborhood

A street isn't a lead. A homeowner who just filed a permit for a new roof, a 200-amp panel upgrade, a whole-home generator or an EV charger is. Those permits are public, dated and tied to an address, so you know who is investing in their house this month.

In Miami-Dade County and Orlando, that's about 2,300 solar-ready leads every 90 days (owner-occupied or brand-new homes with a solar-relevant permit and no solar on record), roughly 36 every weekday, before you've knocked a single door.

2. Throw out the homes that can't buy

Most wasted knocks are on homes that were never going to say yes:

• Renters and investor-owned homes. The Florida homestead exemption tells you whether the owner lives there.
• Condos. Public property records identify them.
• Homes that already have solar. Their solar permits are on record.

In our data, these three filters remove about 41% of permits with a solar trigger.

3. Mail first

Direct mail isn't covered by the TCPA, and a well-timed postcard is welcome rather than intrusive. Send it the week the permit is filed: "New roof? This is the cheapest time you'll ever have to add panels." Include a simple way to book a call. The homeowner's mailing address comes from public records, so you're writing to the actual owner.

4. Then knock a short, qualified route

Instead of blanketing a neighborhood, give each rep the 10–20 homes that got mail last week and haven't responded. Every door is owner-occupied, solar-free and has a fresh reason to talk. Fewer doors, better conversations.

5. Track every house

Mark each address as mailed, knocked, appointment, won or not interested. It stops two reps working the same house, and after a month you'll know which trigger (re-roof, panel upgrade, battery) converts best in your area.

What not to do

• Don't cold-text numbers you bought from a list. Texts and auto-dialled calls to cell phones generally need prior written consent under the TCPA and Florida's FTSA, and damages run per message.
• Don't promise the federal tax credit. The residential credit ended for systems after 2025; lead with savings on the power bill and resilience instead.

PermitScoop does steps 1 and 2 for you: every weekday at 7am, the new owner-occupied re-roof, panel-upgrade and battery permits in your ZIPs, with solar homes removed, owner mailing addresses included and status tracking built in. See this week's leads for your ZIP.