Start here: who owns it decides who gets what
The nine questions
- 01
Who will own this system?
Everything above follows from this. Both answers can be fine; being unclear which one you are signing is not.
- 02
Who receives the credits and certificates?
Ask to be shown the clause, not told the answer. In a third-party agreement it is one unambiguous paragraph.
- 03
Is there an escalator, and what is year 25?
Year one is the brochure number. Year 25 is the one you live with. The calculator below does the arithmetic.
- 04
Where did the production estimate come from?
It should come from a shading analysis of your actual roof, not a regional average.
- 05
Show me the cash price beside the financed price.
Most solar loans carry a dealer fee inside the price. Normal and legal. Refusing to show both numbers is not.
- 06
What happens if I sell the house?
For an owned system, little. For a lease or PPA the buyer must qualify — and you need to know what happens if they do not.
- 07
Does the roof or the panel need work first?
Both are common and expensive to discover after the array is up. A proposal mentioning neither has usually not looked.
- 08
What is not covered by the warranty?
Every warranty has exclusions. Someone who cannot name one has not read theirs.
- 09
Who is actually going to install this?
Sales organisations subcontract. Not automatically bad — but know whose crew is on your roof, and who answers in year eight.
Question three, done properly
Take the year-one payment and the escalator off the proposal in front of you. The right-hand number is the one that is almost never shown.
$180
Annual escalator
Year 25 payment
$365
103% more than year one
Paid over 25 years
$78,649
before any utility savings
Nothing you type here is sent anywhere or recorded. Use it on someone else’s proposal.
Five reasons to walk away
Red flag
The price drops if you sign tonight
A price that expires in an evening was not a real price. Nothing about solar economics changes overnight.
Red flag
Savings shown against a rising utility rate
Assume the utility raises rates forever and any system looks good. Ask what the savings are at today's rate.
Red flag
“It's basically free” or “the government pays for it”
The homeowner credit ended for expenditures made after 31 December 2025. Anyone still saying you get 30% back is out of date, or hoping you are.
Red flag
One number, no breakdown
You should see equipment, labour, adders and any dealer fee. If it is one figure, ask what is inside it.
Red flag
They will not leave the proposal with you
Anything you cannot read alone the next morning is designed not to be read alone the next morning.