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Solar Installer GuildUnited States · independent

Choosing an installer

What should I ask a solar installer before signing?

The short answer

Ask who physically installs it, who honours the workmanship warranty and for how long, what production the design assumes and on what shade model, what export arrangement the savings figure assumes, and what happens if the roof leaks at a mount. Those five answers tell you more than the panel brand does.

The questions

  1. Are your installers employees or subcontractors, and who supervises the job?
  2. What are your contractor and electrical licence numbers in this state?
  3. Can your insurer send me a certificate for liability and workers compensation?
  4. What is the workmanship warranty, in writing, for how long, and does it cover roof penetrations?
  5. What annual production does the design predict, and what shade model and orientation assumptions produced it?
  6. What export or net metering arrangement does the savings estimate assume, and where is that documented?
  7. Who handles permitting, interconnection and inspection, and who pays if the utility requires changes?
  8. What equipment exactly — panel, inverter, racking, monitoring — by model number, and can it be substituted?
  9. Who warrants each component, and what is the process if a manufacturer fails?
  10. What is the payment schedule, and what is due before anything is installed?
  11. How long from signing to permission to operate, realistically, and what is the recent average here?
  12. What happens if the system underperforms the estimate?

The roof penetration question is the one to ask first. It is the classic gap between the solar contractor and the roofer, and it surfaces at the first heavy rain after installation.

Also asked

How many quotes should I get?

Three, and compare them in the same units: price per watt before incentives, system size in direct-current watts, predicted annual production, and the warranty terms. Comparing monthly payments across three financing structures is comparing three different products.

The long version

How to choose a solar installer

The company matters more than the panel. How to weigh a local track record against a national sales operation, and what to check before you sign.

General information about solar and about hiring, not advice about your roof or your tax affairs. Incentives, net metering and contractor licensing are set federally, by state, and by your utility, and all of them change. The authority that publishes the rule is the current answer.