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Choosing a solar installer

Workmanship warranties run just 1-5 years, far shorter than 25-year panel warranties. Sourced questions to ask before choosing a solar installer.

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What's the single most important thing to check before choosing an installer?

The workmanship warranty term, separate from the panel warranty. An installer's own warranty on their labor "may be only 1–5 years," per NREL/Sandia/SunSpec research — far shorter than the 20-25 year performance warranty the panels themselves usually carry. A long panel warranty says nothing about how long the installation itself is covered if something the installer did goes wrong.

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What three ways can a warranty fail me, and how does that relate to installer choice?

A warranty can be voided by mishandling or not following its conditions — which starts at installation, if it's done incorrectly. It may not cover labor: manufacturer warranties often cover the replacement part but not the labor to remove, ship, and replace it, so a shorter-lived, low-cost installer relationship can leave you paying labor out of pocket later even on a covered part. And it may not survive a change of ownership, though many manufacturers have a transfer process — worth asking your installer to confirm exists for your specific equipment.

What should I ask about pricing before signing?

Ask what's included in the per-watt price you're quoted — permitting, financing fees, and roof work sometimes are and sometimes aren't. LBNL's data shows 2024 residential prices spanning roughly $3.0 to $5.2/W depending partly on exactly these inclusions, so an unusually low quote may be excluding something another installer bundles in.

What should a written contract specify?

New York's Department of Public Service requires residential solar contracts to include system specifications, production warranties, and "an estimate of annual energy output including percentage of available solar the system will receive, as well as degradation of the system over time." That's a New York-specific requirement, not a national one — but it's a useful checklist of what a thorough contract should cover regardless of where you live.

Sources

4 cited

Warranty terms and failure modes: NREL/Sandia/SunSpec Alliance, Best Practices for O&M of Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Systems, 3rd Ed., NREL/TP-7A40-73822, December 2018 (checked 2026-08-18).
Labor-coverage gap: LBNL for DOE FEMP, Solar Photovoltaic Procurement Specifications Templates, April 2020 (checked 2026-08-18).
2024 price range: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage — 2025 Data Update, October 2025 (checked 2026-08-18).
Contract-content requirement: NYS Department of Public Service, Consumer Guide to Rooftop Solar (New York-specific, checked 2026-08-18).

How it works

From “is it worth it?” to a number you can check

Start with your power bill

The kilowatt-hours you used over the last year is the number every honest quote is built from. Without it, any price is a guess.

See what the roof can actually make

Pitch, orientation and shade decide how much of that usage a system can realistically cover. This is the step door-to-door pitches skip.

Put the quotes on one basis

Cash, loan and lease are three different products. Compare system size and total price first, then compare the financing separately.

Matched with a licensed local company

The work is done by licensed local solar companies. We do not sell panels and we do not fit them.

How we work

What to expect from this site

Every figure here carries its source and the date it was checked.

Answer first, then the working

Each page opens by answering its own question in a couple of sentences, then shows the arithmetic underneath for anyone who wants to check it.

Ranges, not one confident number

Solar pricing moves with the roof, the state, the utility and the financing. A single national figure fits almost nobody, so we publish the spread our sources support.

We say when the maths does not work

A shaded roof on a low tariff can be a poor buy. That is a legitimate answer to the question and you will find it here rather than a reason to keep reading.

We are not the contractor

We do not sell panels and we do not fit them, so nothing here depends on you signing. Licensed local companies do the work.

Questions

Frequently asked

The questions homeowners actually ask before they sign anything.

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Is a 25-year warranty always a 25-year workmanship guarantee?

No — that's a common point of confusion. The 20-25 year figure is typically the panel performance warranty; installer workmanship warranties run much shorter, sourced at just 1-5 years.

Does a manufacturer's warranty cover the cost of removing and replacing a bad panel?

Often not the labor. A DOE-sponsored analysis states flatly that module warranties do not cover labor costs — only the part itself is typically covered, which is a real, sourced gap worth asking your installer about directly.

What happens to my warranty if I sell my house?

It may not automatically transfer — NREL/Sandia/SunSpec research notes manufacturers or EPCs often won't honor a warranty if the original purchaser no longer owns the equipment, though many have a formal transfer process. Ask your installer to confirm one exists for your equipment before you need it.

Should I ask for a written estimate of annual output?

It's a reasonable ask regardless of where you live — New York specifically requires it by law, including a stated degradation-over-time figure, and it's the kind of detail a thorough installer should be able to provide anywhere.

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