Solar Quote Comparison Tool

Normalize every quote to the same metrics: cost per watt ($/W), verified annual production, true payback period, and equipment quality tier. Installers often use different assumptions (production estimates, financing terms, incentive stacking) to make their quote look cheaper. This tool strips away the marketing math and shows you the actual numbers side-by-side.

The national average cost per watt for residential solar in 2026 is approximately $3.07/W before incentives. A competitive quote is $2.50–$3.50/W for owned systems. Anything above $4.50/W is a red flag (overpriced). Anything below $1.80/W is also a red flag (too cheap — usually indicates hidden fees, financing markups, or budget equipment).

The Section 25D residential solar tax credit (30% federal ITC) expired on December 31, 2025. If you buy and own a system for your primary residence in 2026, you no longer qualify for the federal credit. However, the Section 48E Investment Tax Credit is still available for leased systems, PPAs, commercial properties, and rentals — provided construction begins before July 4, 2026. Any installer quoting you a 30% federal ITC on an owned residential system in 2026 is either uninformed or deceptive.

Production estimates vary wildly because they depend on assumptions about shading, panel orientation, tilt, and local weather. The most reliable way to verify is to compare against NREL's PVWatts model, which uses 30+ years of weather data. If an installer's claimed production is more than 15% above PVWatts, that's a yellow flag. More than 25% above is a red flag — they may be inflating numbers to make the payback look better.

Premium panels (≥22% efficiency, 25+ year warranty) include SunPower Maxeon, REC Alpha, Panasonic EverVolt, and top-tier Q.TRON models. Standard panels (19–22% efficiency) include most Qcells, Silfab, Mission Solar, Canadian Solar, and Trina. Budget panels (<19% efficiency) include older or thin-film models like First Solar Series 6. Premium panels cost ~10–20% more but produce more power per square foot and last longer.

Microinverters (Enphase IQ8) and DC optimizers (SolarEdge) provide panel-level MPPT — if one panel is shaded or fails, the others keep producing at full output. They cost more upfront but typically have 25-year warranties vs. 10–12 years for string inverters. String inverters (SMA, Fronius) are simpler and cheaper but any shading on one panel drags down the whole array. For roofs with any shading or complex layouts, microinverters or optimizers are worth it.