Questions to Ask a Solar Company
Questions for a solar quote or sales visit, covering price per watt, loan fees and lease escalators, how production estimates are built, the three separate warranties, roof work, and what happens if the installer goes out of business.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Is this a cash purchase, a loan, a lease, or a power purchase agreement?
Why ask it
These are four different products with different owners, tax treatment, and consequences when you sell the house, and sales conversations often blur them into a single monthly payment. Get this answered in one word before discussing anything else.
What is the price per watt, before incentives?
Why ask it
Price per watt is the only figure that lets you compare quotes for systems of different sizes. Ask for the gross number, since a price quoted after incentives hides the difference between bids.
If this is a loan, what fee is built into the price, and what would the cash price be?
Why ask it
Solar loans commonly carry a lender fee folded into the system price, which is why the cash price for identical equipment is often lower. Ask for both prices side by side and compare the totals rather than the monthly payments.
If this is a lease or a power purchase agreement, is there an annual escalator, and what is the payment in year fifteen?
Why ask it
An escalator of a few percent a year compounds quietly across a twenty year term. Ask for the payment schedule in writing, year by year, and read the last five years rather than the first.
Who owns the system, and who claims any tax credit?
Why ask it
Under a lease or power purchase agreement the company owns the equipment and takes the credit. Anyone implying that you receive both the credit and the low lease payment is either confused or misleading you.
What is your production estimate based on, and was shading measured on my roof?
Why ask it
Estimates diverge depending on the shading survey, roof pitch and orientation, assumed annual degradation, and inverter losses. Ask which tool produced the figure and whether anyone measured shading on the roof rather than reading an aerial photograph.
Can I have the production model output as a document?
Why ask it
Having the estimate in writing is what makes a later comparison against your monitoring data possible. A verbal figure is not something you can hold anyone to in year two.
Is the production guarantee an actual guarantee with a payment attached?
Why ask it
Many guarantees promise only that someone will come and look at the system. Ask what payment is triggered, how a shortfall is measured, over what period, and who does the measuring.
How does my utility handle net metering or exports, and can that change after I sign?
Why ask it
Export rules are set by the utility and the state, and several have changed, sometimes protecting existing customers and sometimes not. Ask what rate the proposal assumes, then confirm it with the utility yourself.
Walk me through how my bill changes, including fixed charges and any annual true-up.
Why ask it
Bills rarely go to zero: fixed charges, minimum bills, and annual reconciliation remain. Ask them to work through your last twelve months of statements line by line under the new arrangement.
Who does the installation: your own crews or subcontractors?
Why ask it
Subcontracting is normal and not automatically a problem, but it decides who comes back for a warranty visit. Ask whose name appears on the workmanship warranty and whether that company works in your area year round.
Which licensed electrician is on this job, and who pulls the permit?
Why ask it
Licensing rules vary by state and the licensed holder is sometimes not the person on the roof. Ask for the license number and check it with the state board yourself rather than accepting a screenshot.
How old is my roof, and would you replace it before installing?
Why ask it
Panels last decades and roofing does not. Removing and reinstalling an array to reshingle later is expensive, so a company that never asks about roof age is not planning for the second half of the system's life.
How are roof penetrations flashed, and does the work affect my roof warranty?
Why ask it
Leaks show up years later at the mounting points. Ask what flashing is used, whether the roofing manufacturer accepts it, and who pays for a leak, and get that answer into the contract rather than leaving it in conversation.
How long is each of the three warranties: panels, inverter, and your workmanship?
Why ask it
These are separate and routinely conflated in sales meetings. Panel warranties usually run much longer than inverter warranties, and the installer's workmanship warranty is typically the shortest and the one you are most likely to need.
If your company closes, who honors the workmanship warranty?
Why ask it
Installers close and re-form under new names with some regularity. Ask which obligations sit with the equipment manufacturer or a third party, and which depend on this particular company still trading in ten years.
How long from signing to permission to operate, and where do jobs usually stall?
Why ask it
The wait between signature and switch-on is where most frustration accumulates: permitting, utility interconnection, inspection. Ask for their recent timeline in your city and what they do when it stalls.
Will there be a lien or fixture filing on my property, and what happens if I sell?
Why ask it
Some financing arrangements place a filing against the property that surfaces during a sale and can hold up a closing. Ask what the paperwork does and exactly how a transfer to a buyer works.
What is not included in this price?
Why ask it
Exclusions are where quotes diverge: an electrical panel upgrade, trenching, tree work, permit fees, or roof repair can add a great deal. Ask for the exclusions as a written list and compare bids on that basis.
Can I speak to three customers you installed for near here more than a year ago?
Why ask it
Local addresses from a year ago beat online reviews, because you can look at the workmanship and ask the owner what the first twelve months were like. A company unwilling to name anyone nearby has answered a different question.
Getting through a solar sales process
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you sign anything
- Get three quotes, each stating system size in kilowatts, panel and inverter models, price per watt, and the annual production estimate. Quotes without those four cannot be compared.
- Do not sign at the first meeting. A discount that expires tonight, or a tablet handed to you at the door, is a reason to stop rather than to hurry.
- Check the contractor license and complaint history with your state board, and check whether the salesperson actually works for the company doing the installation.
- Confirm incentives with a tax professional and with your utility rather than with the salesperson, since whether you can use a tax credit depends on your own tax position.
Reading the paperwork
- Read the contract, not the proposal. Only the contract binds anyone, and the two often differ.
- Look specifically for what happens if production falls short, if the roof leaks, if the utility refuses interconnection, or if you sell the house.
- Note the cancellation window. Many places give a few days to cancel a door-to-door sale in writing, and it is worth using if you feel rushed.
- Get any verbal promise about future rate rises, equipment upgrades, or referral payments written in or treat it as not said.
During and after installation
- Photograph the roof before work starts and again once the array is up.
- Do not make final payment until the utility has granted permission to operate and the system is producing.
- Compare your first full sunny month against the estimate, and again after a year. Raise a shortfall in writing while the workmanship warranty is well within its term.
- Keep the plan set, permit, interconnection approval, warranty documents, and monitoring login together. A buyer or an appraiser will ask for them.
Warning signs
- A monthly payment quoted with no system size, equipment models, or price per watt.
- A production estimate noticeably higher than other bidders gave for the same roof.
- Pressure to sign before anyone has inspected the roof or the electrical panel.
- A claim that the system will eliminate your electricity bill completely.