AI exposure: Solar Energy Systems Engineers
Perform site-specific engineering analysis or evaluation of energy efficiency and solar projects involving residential, commercial, or industrial customers. Design solar domestic hot water and space heating systems for new and existing structures, applying knowledge of structural energy requirements, local climates, solar technology, and thermodynamics.
Reading this score
computed37.8% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Solar Energy Systems Engineers at the 66th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.4 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 13 tasks it averages 2.00 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Create plans for solar energy system development, monitoring, and evaluation activities, at 73.3%. The least is Test or evaluate photovoltaic (PV) cells or modules, at 8.3%. A gap of 65.0% 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 architecture and engineering occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 56 roles in the group is 37.5%, and only 23 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 13 tasks, 8 are currently banded exposed, 2 assisted and 3 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take a change in who is permitted to sign the work, which is a question for regulators rather than for engineers. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
13 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create plans for solar energy system development, monitoring, and evaluation activities. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.44 | exposed |
| Perform thermal, stress, or cost reduction analyses for solar systems. | 58.3% | 29.2% | 12.5% | 3.24 | exposed |
| Provide technical direction or support to installation teams during installation, start-up, testing, system commissioning, or performance monitoring. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.33 | exposed |
| Perform computer simulation of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation system performance or energy production to optimize efficiency. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.14 | exposed |
| Review specifications and recommend engineering or manufacturing changes to achieve solar design objectives. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.88 | exposed |
| Develop design specifications and functional requirements for residential, commercial, or industrial solar energy systems or components. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.83 | exposed |
| Develop standard operation procedures and quality or safety standards for solar installation work. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.65 | exposed |
| Create electrical single-line diagrams, panel schedules, or connection diagrams for solar electric systems, using computer-aided design (CAD) software. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 4.21 | exposed |
| Design or coordinate design of photovoltaic (PV) or solar thermal systems, including system components, for residential and commercial buildings. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.40 | assisted |
| Design or develop vacuum tube collector systems for solar applications. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 1.75 | assisted |
| Create checklists for review or inspection of completed solar installation projects. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 3.56 | untouched |
| Conduct engineering site audits to collect structural, electrical, and related site information for use in the design of residential or commercial solar power systems. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.46 | untouched |
| Test or evaluate photovoltaic (PV) cells or modules. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 2.87 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
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 | 2.42 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.92 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.23 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.62 | 0-3 |
| Context | 2.00 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.85 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
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.