How to read a solar quote

1. Ask for the cash price and financed price separately

Always. The difference between the two is the dealer fee — a payment the financing company makes to the installer in exchange for offering a low promotional interest rate. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's 2024 Issue Spotlight on solar financing documented dealer fees ranging from ten to thirty percent of cash price, with some exceeding fifty percent. A $30,000 cash system can be quoted as a $39,000 financed system with a 1.99% APR — and that $9,000 difference is rolled into the principal you pay for the full term.

If the installer won't quote a cash price, that is itself the answer. A serious installer will quote both side by side.

2. Ask whether the production estimate is P50 or P90

Solar production estimates are probabilistic. P50 means there's a 50% chance the system will produce at least the estimated kilowatt-hours. P90 means there's a 90% chance. Most quotes use P50, which means half of installs will produce less than the headline number. CFPB and American Prospect have documented cases where actual production came in 35% below the P50 estimate — the system was undersized to win the quote on optimistic assumptions.

Ask for both P50 and P90 in writing. The P90 is the number to plan your payback around.

3. Ask what happens if production misses by ten, twenty, thirty percent

A production guarantee is only as useful as the company behind it. Most guarantees cap the remedy at repaying the lost-utility-credit value at the guaranteed-versus-actual gap — which is far less than the homeowner's actual loss. And if the installer is no longer in business when the shortfall is documented, the guarantee is functionally worthless.

Ask: who is the entity making the guarantee? How is the shortfall calculated? Over what period? What is the cap on annual payout?

4. Ask what happens if the installer goes out of business

Solar installer failure is common enough that Illinois has a dedicated Stranded Customer Restitution Program. Pink Energy went bankrupt in October 2022 and left an estimated 25,000–50,000 customers with non-functioning panels, ongoing loan payments, and no remedy. Colorado's Sopris Solar / Birrell & Billmaier indictment, August 2025, involved hundreds of customers and six counties. The CFPB documents a pattern of homeowners receiving installer assets they cannot use while still owing the lender.

Ask the installer about the FTC Holder Rule. Specifically: "if your company is no longer in business and the system doesn't work, can I claim against the financing company under the FTC Holder Rule?" If the installer doesn't know what you're talking about, that is information.

5. Ask whether the quote assumes the old federal credit

Solar quotes printed before the One Big Beautiful Bill (P.L. 119-21, signed July 4, 2025) routinely included a federal residential clean energy credit line — often $5,000–$8,000 — on the bottom-line price. That credit no longer applies to cash- or loan-financed installs placed in service in 2026 or later.

Ask the installer to remove any federal credit line item and re-issue the quote. If your installer cannot or will not, that is itself the answer.

6. Ask whether the export credit math uses old or new rates

Illinois transitioned to Smart Solar Billing on January 1, 2025. Systems receiving Permission to Operate after that date receive export credit at the supply rate only — roughly half of the all-in residential rate. If a 2026 quote calculates savings using one-to-one credit math, the payback period is overstated.

Illinois solar buyback rates explained →

7. Ask about UCC-1 filings and home-sale implications

Financed solar installs often include a UCC-1 filing on the equipment. Technically a UCC-1 is not a lien on the house — it's a security interest in the panels. But mortgage lenders frequently flag UCC-1 filings during title searches, which can complicate a future home sale. Third-party-owned arrangements (leases, power-purchase agreements) are worse: the buyer must assume the contract and qualify for it, or the seller pays off the remaining balance at closing.

Ask: is there a UCC-1 filing on the panels? Who is the secured party? Has the company seen these flagged in real estate transactions? How was it handled?

A short worksheet

Print this. Bring it to your next solar consultation. Ask each question. Compare the answers across installers.

1. What is the cash price? What is the financed price? What's the dealer fee?
2. Is the production estimate P50 or P90? Show me both numbers.
3. What is the remedy if the system misses by ten, twenty, or thirty percent? Capped at what?
4. What happens to my warranty / production guarantee if you go out of business?
5. Are you familiar with the FTC Holder Rule?
6. Does this quote assume a federal residential credit? Pull it out and re-quote.
7. Does this quote use post-2024 Illinois export rates? Show the math.
8. Is there a UCC-1 filing? Who is the secured party?
9. What's the warranty on the panels, the inverter, and the labor? Are they the same?
10. How many systems have you installed in this ZIP in the past 12 months?

Sources

1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Issue Spotlight: Solar Financing (Aug 2024). Source: consumerfinance.gov/data-research · accessed 2026-05-13
2. Federal Trade Commission, "Don't waste your energy on a solar scam" (Aug 2024). Source: ftc.gov/business-guidance · accessed 2026-05-13
3. Colorado Attorney General, Statewide grand jury indictment, Sopris Solar / Billmaier & Birrell (Aug 28, 2025). Source: coag.gov/2025 · accessed 2026-05-13
4. Illinois Shines, Stranded Customer Resources. Source: illinoisshines.com/stranded-customer-resources · accessed 2026-05-13