How to choose a solar installer
Ten things worth asking, taken from what people who got burned say they wish they had checked. Ask them of us. Ask them of everyone.
The hardest question in solar is not what it costs. It is this one, from a homeowner in south-west Sydney:
“I have seen the prices from 15k to 25k. How do I choose which installer will do a decent job? Every installer keeps telling ‘they are the best and others will do a bad job’.”
The only answer he got was “luck of the draw”. It should not be. Below is a list you can use on anybody, us included. Our answer is under each one, and where we are nothing special we say so.
- 1
Who will actually be on my roof?
Many companies sell the job and send someone else. If the seller never sees your place, nobody has checked whether the plan works before the crew arrives.
“If I was to do it again I would explicitly ask who the installation company will be, and I would ask for them to demonstrate experience via photos.”
A customer, on SolarQuotes Our answer. Us. There are two of us and we do our own installs. The person who prices your job is on the roof doing it.
- 2
Will someone look at my switchboard before you give me a price?
This is the single biggest cause of extra money being asked for on the day. A price given over the phone has not seen your meter box, your roof, or how old your wiring is.
“Every solar quote I got, they always asked for a photo of the switchboard beforehand.”
Top reply in a Reddit thread on quotes Our answer. Yes. We look at the roof and the switchboard before the price is final. You can send a photo to start, and we still come and look before you sign.
- 3
Is the quote itemised?
If it is one number, you cannot tell what was left out. You also cannot compare it fairly with anyone else's quote.
“The quote was not itemised, so it was difficult to agree on the new cost after being told there were things in the original quote that would not be done.”
A customer, on ProductReview Our answer. Every line is priced separately, with the make and model of the panels, the inverter and the battery written on it. Take it to someone else and compare it line by line. We would rather you did.
- 4
How much deposit do you want?
In New South Wales a deposit for residential work must not be more than 10% of the price. Asking for more is against the law. A large deposit also removes the only leverage you have if the job stalls.
“As soon as they got my deposit in December, they went silent.”
A customer, on ProductReview Our answer. 10%, and never more. On a $13,290 job that is $1,329 to start. The rest stays in your account until the work is done.
- 5
What date will it be finished?
Long silences after the deposit are the most common complaint in this trade. A date in writing gives you a way out if it never happens.
“I strongly recommend that everyone include a deadline in the contract, specifying the date by which your system must be installed, before signing.”
A customer, on ProductReview Our answer. We give you a date. If the grid connection is the hold-up, we tell you that is what it is, and we tell you where yours is up to rather than leaving you to wonder.
- 6
Do I pay the rest before or after it works?
Paying in full on install day means you have nothing left to hold if it does not switch on. Systems left uncommissioned is its own complaint category.
“DO NOT PAY IN FULL on the day of install. That is your only leverage.”
A customer, on ProductReview Our answer. After it is working. Not on the day the boxes arrive, and not on the day the panels go up.
- 7
What is your licence number, and how long has the business existed?
You can check a licence yourself on the NSW Fair Trading register, and an ABN on the ABN Lookup register. Some companies claim years they have not had. Others close and reopen under a new name, which is how a warranty quietly disappears.
Our answer. Our licence is 358421C and our ABN is 18 700 555 460. Both are public registers, so go and look. But here we are nothing special, and you should know it: Oolite started in 2026. If you want a company with fifteen years of trading behind it, that is not us. We have been on the tools far longer than the company has existed, and that is a different thing.
- 8
What happens when a part fails in year four?
The most bitter complaints in this trade are not about installation. They are about the fault call years later, when the seller points at the manufacturer and the manufacturer points back.
“Once they install the unit and get paid, good luck reaching them if anything goes wrong. The warranty is basically worthless — the company just doesn't respond.”
A customer, on ProductReview Our answer. You ring the same number you rang the first day, and you get one of us. We chase the manufacturer and we fit the replacement. We are not a call centre and there is nobody for us to point at.
- 9
Are the photos on the website your own work?
Buyers on forums treat stock photography, and pictures taken from other companies, as a warning sign. It is an easy thing to check and a hard thing to fake.
Our answer. Our job photos are our own. But be fair to us and to everyone else here: we are a young company, so there are not many of them yet. A long gallery is not proof of anything on its own.
- 10
Is the rebate really about to end?
Rebates do step down, and there are real dates. But a deadline is also the oldest way to stop you getting a second quote. If the price only stands today, ask why.
“I was pressured by the salesman to lock in my deal, explaining the promotion was ending and the added upgrade wouldn't be honoured if I didn't.”
A customer, on ProductReview Our answer. We will tell you the real dates and where to read them yourself. Our price does not expire tonight. Take it away and get two more.
One more thing, and it is about star ratings
A high average does not mean much. One large retailer holds well over four stars from more than twenty thousand reviews, and is currently under investigation in three states. When a journalist asked about the complaints, the company's answer was to point at its star rating.
Read the one-star reviews instead. Not to count them, but to see what goes wrong and how the company answers. That tells you far more than an average ever will.
Ours are on Google, where we cannot edit them. There are not many yet. You can read all of them here.
Ask us all ten
Ring and put the list to us. If any answer sounds thin, that is worth knowing before you spend anything.
We call you back the same day.