How to Read a Solar Quote (and the Questions That Expose a Bad One)

Solar quotes are notoriously hard to compare. One quotes a system size, another a monthly payment, a third a 25-year savings number with the assumptions buried. Here's how to cut through it.

Normalize to price per watt

Divide the total cash price by system size in watts. A $23,000 quote on an 8.4 kW system is about $2.75/W. This single number makes different system sizes comparable and exposes padding instantly. Ask every bidder for it; hesitation is information.

Interrogate the savings assumptions

Any 25-year savings claim rests on assumptions: your annual usage, the utility rate used, the escalation rate applied to future bills, and panel degradation. Honest proposals state all four. Watch for inflated escalation (anything much above 4–5%/yr deserves scrutiny) and 'savings' modeled against rates you don't actually pay. If the assumptions aren't printed, the number is marketing.

Check what's actually included

Equipment brand and model, per-panel or string architecture, monitoring, permit fees, interconnection, warranty terms — quotes differ wildly in what's inside the number. A cheaper quote that excludes permitting and uses no-name hardware isn't cheaper.

The transparency test

The best question is the simplest one: can I see the design? An installer confident in their engineering will show you the layout, the production model, and the math behind the savings. That's the standard we hold ourselves to — every Pro Solar proposal is an interactive site where you can inspect the design plane by plane and toggle the assumptions yourself.