Solar / Comparison Desk

Consumer comparison desk · United States

Compare solar quotes on the cash price, not the pitch

Enter up to three quotes and read them side by side. The desk does arithmetic on what you type — kW DC, cash price, down payment, loan principal, APR, term — and keeps the system price and the financing total apart. Nothing is sent, saved, or guessed on your behalf.

Open the comparison deskFirst quote in hand? Start here

Technicians installing solar panels on a roof
Technicians work on a rooftop solar panel installation. Illustrative photo; not a specific project described on this page. Photo: Stephen Yang / The Solutions Project, public domain.

The cash price is the anchor

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reports that some lenders fold markups and fees into the loan principal, raising it 30 percent or more above the cash price, and that these fees are often not labeled as a markup. A financed total and a cash price are different numbers. Put them on the same footing before you compare anything else.

Read next Compare cash and financing on the same footing What a comparison can and cannot estimate

“Ask the salesperson what the cash price of the system is.”

CFPB consumer advisory

Work the quote in this order

A sequence, not a score. Each step is a question you can answer from the paperwork in front of you.

  1. Read the quote line by line

    Does the monthly payment step up after 18 months? The CFPB describes loans where the required payment rises unless a large prepayment, typically about 30 percent, is made.

  2. Name the equipment

    Which panel and inverter models are named? Get the model numbers and the manufacturer documents before trusting a warranty summary.

  3. Separate the two totals

    Enter the cash price and the loan principal as separate figures in the desk. Financing total minus principal is what the loan costs you; it is not a better or worse system.

  4. Question the savings figure

    Is that number from the quote or from us? Energy savings are hard to predict and vary by location and season, per the CFPB. This desk estimates none of them.

  5. Confirm the roof

    The Department of Energy advises builders to make sure the roof can support panels and racking. That is a site-specific check, not something a form can rule on.

What this desk does not do

It does not apply a tax credit percentage, a utility rate, a savings estimate, a tariff, or a roof-suitability ruling. The federal residential tax credit is non-refundable and depends on your federal tax liability; the CFPB notes a seller does not know your tax situation. Other financing, such as PACE loans repaid through property taxes, is a separate product with its own risks.

The worked example inside the desk uses clearly fictional figures so you can see how the table behaves.

Residential rooftop solar array in Portland, Oregon
A residential rooftop solar photovoltaic installation in Portland, Oregon. Illustrative photo. Photo: Cboyce89, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where the guidance comes from

Published by NovCog. Full list on the sources page.