Choosing a vendor · India
Most disappointing solar installations in India are not equipment failures. They are vendor-selection failures — a vague scope, a missing net meter, a module that was never eligible. This page is the checklist we would use ourselves.
Signal vs noise
| Weigh this | Ignore this |
|---|---|
| Site visit before quoting | Quote over the phone in ten minutes |
| Exact module make and model | "Branded A-grade panels" |
| Written scope and exclusions | Verbal assurance that all is included |
| Milestone-linked payments | Large cash advance |
| Portal registration you verified | "Government approved company" |
| Service presence in your city | National toll-free number only |
Last reviewed
Buyers spend a great deal of energy on module debates and comparatively little on who installs them. That is the wrong way round. Mainstream modules from listed manufacturers are broadly similar in what they deliver per kilowatt, as mono vs poly argues at length. The installer, by contrast, determines whether your structure survives a storm, whether water gets into your slab, whether the net meter ever arrives, whether your subsidy claim is valid, and whether anyone answers when the inverter trips in year four.
Those are the outcomes that decide whether a rooftop plant is a good decision or a long-running irritation.
Ask for these in the quotation itself, not in a conversation. The purpose is partly to get the information and partly to see how the vendor reacts to being asked.
This is the single most expensive thing to get wrong. If you intend to claim central assistance, the vendor must be registered on the national portal and the equipment must meet the applicable listing conditions — the substance of ALMM and DCR.
Verify the registration on the portal yourself. A screenshot is not verification. Confirm the exact module model against the approved list before any money moves, because a plant installed with a non-conforming module is not a paperwork problem to be tidied up later; it can simply be ineligible. The sequence that protects you is set out in how to apply, and what the subsidy actually pays is in subsidy amounts.
Related, and worth saying plainly: the subsidy is a reimbursement, not a discount at the counter. It arrives after installation, inspection and commissioning. Any vendor presenting it as an instant price reduction is either confused or managing your expectations dishonestly, and the wait it creates is described in subsidy status.
Individually these can have innocent explanations. Two or three together are a pattern.
Collecting three quotes achieves nothing if they describe three different systems. Fix the variables first: state the capacity, state that DISCOM liaison and net metering must be included, and ask each vendor to price that same scope with make and model named.
Then compare on rupees per kilowatt, with the inclusions listed side by side. Against that discipline, price differences start to mean something — and you can sanity-check the result against 3 kW and 5 kW price ranges before deciding whether the market has quoted you fairly.
Ask who cleans, who monitors, and who comes out when something stops. Inverters are the most common failure point over a plant's life, as maintenance explains, and the response time on that is a lived experience rather than a warranty clause. A vendor with technicians in your city will outperform a larger one operating through a distant call centre, whatever the paperwork says.
We are not an installer and do not sell equipment. Run the free home check and we will tell you what capacity and price range is reasonable for your bill and roof, so you can read quotes with a benchmark in hand. Related: installer vs advisory · payback · warranty and lifespan · choosing an inverter · eligibility · who we are.
Judge the paperwork rather than the pitch. A trustworthy vendor conducts a real site visit before quoting, states the exact make and model of modules and inverter, prices per kilowatt rather than per panel, sets out clearly what is included and excluded, gives a written payment schedule tied to milestones, and confirms in writing who handles the DISCOM application and net meter. Where you intend to claim central assistance, the vendor must also be registered on the national portal, because an unregistered installer can leave you unable to claim at all.
A quotation you can actually compare states the system capacity in kilowatts, the module make, model and wattage, the number of modules, the inverter make and model, the mounting structure specification and height, cable and earthing scope, whether lightning or surge protection is included, the assumed annual generation with its basis, the total price with taxes shown, the payment milestones, warranty terms for each major component, whether the DISCOM liaison and net meter charges are included, and the expected timeline. Anything missing from that list is a question, not an omission to overlook.
Several recur often enough to be reliable. Quoting without visiting the roof. Pressure tactics built around a subsidy deadline that does not exist. Describing themselves as government approved in a way that implies official endorsement rather than portal registration. Demanding a large share of the money before anything arrives on site, especially in cash without a written contract. Refusing to name the exact module model. Promising a guaranteed monthly saving without stating the assumptions behind it. And presenting the subsidy as an instant discount when the actual mechanism is a reimbursement that follows inspection.
Not without understanding why it is cheapest, because the difference is usually a real difference in what you receive. Common sources of a lower price are a lighter mounting structure that will struggle in high wind, thinner cabling, a cheaper inverter, exclusion of the DISCOM and net metering work, no meaningful service presence in your city, or a module that is not correctly listed for the subsidy path you intend to use. Some of those trade-offs may be acceptable to you. They should be chosen knowingly rather than discovered later.
For the central assistance route the work must be carried out by a vendor registered on the national rooftop portal and the equipment must satisfy the applicable listing conditions. This is one of the few genuinely rigid requirements in the process, and it is not something that can be corrected comfortably after installation. Verify the registration on the portal yourself rather than accepting a screenshot, and confirm the specific module model against the approved list before any payment is made.
Both, for different things, and the split is worth clarifying before you sign. Modules and inverters carry manufacturer warranties, while workmanship items such as mounting, cabling, earthing and waterproofing sit with the installer. In practice the installer is the party you will contact first for anything, so their continued presence in your city matters as much as the printed warranty period. Ask specifically who lodges a manufacturer claim on your behalf, what the response commitment is, and whether labour for a replacement is chargeable.
Three is usually enough to reveal the shape of the market in your city, provided they are quoted on a comparable basis. The common mistake is collecting three quotes for different capacities with different inclusions and then comparing the totals, which measures nothing. Fix the capacity and the scope first, state that you want the DISCOM liaison and net meter included, and ask each vendor to price the same thing. Differences that survive that discipline are meaningful.
