How to get solar quotes in California and compare them fairly

Before you ask for a quote: what to have ready

A quote is only as good as the numbers it starts from. Gather these before the first call, and give every bidder the same set:

• Twelve months of electricity use, month by month, from your bill or your utility account, plus the name of your rate plan.
• Which billing rules apply to you. PG&E, SCE and SDG&E customers applying to connect since April 15, 2023 take service on the Net Billing Tariff, which credits exported power at values that are “usually lower than the retail rate” (CPUC, checked September 24, 2026). City-run utilities such as LADWP and SMUD write their own rules. A quote modeled on the wrong tariff is wrong from the first line.
• Your roof’s age. The CPUC guide says to replace a roof you plan to replace soon before the panels go on.
• What you want priced. Solar alone, solar with a battery, or both. The guide also suggests asking for quotes on differently sized systems to see how size changes your finances.

Where to get solar quotes

Start with a list of licensed companies that actually work near you. The CPUC guide points to two public tools. The CSLB’s contractor search finds licensed contractors by city in the C-46 Solar, C-10 Electrical or B General Building classification. The CPUC’s DGStats Find an Installer search lists solar projects interconnected near a ZIP code in the last 24 months. Our guide to finding solar installers near you walks through both. Then there are three practical ways to ask:

1. Direct installer request. Call or email the installer you're interested in and ask for a quote. Downside: one quote at a time, and you'll get repeat sales contact.

2. Marketplace platforms. Online solar marketplaces connect you with multiple installers at once. Useful, but your information goes to several installers, so expect calls from more than one.

3. Referral services. A referral service such as California Rate Relief passes your request to a solar provider, which decides whether it can serve your address and what it can offer. California Rate Relief is compensated by a solar provider when a homeowner we refer signs an agreement. A referral does not guarantee a set number of quotes or a particular provider, and the providers you hear from depend on the service's arrangements; see how we make money.

Whichever route you take, the price has to come from the licensed contractor. The CSLB says solar lead generators and brokers “cannot provide quotes or offers for the sale and installation of solar photovoltaic systems” (CSLB, checked September 23, 2026). More on that line in what a solar broker can and cannot do.

Why three quotes is the target

The CPUC's guide says it plainly: get bids from at least three qualified solar providers, compare them and ask questions. Two quotes rarely show you whether a price is high or low; a third gives you a middle. The guide adds a warning worth taping to the fridge: the cheapest bid is not necessarily the best option, and “a very low bid may indicate that a solar provider is trying to cut corners” (CPUC, checked September 23, 2026).

What a complete solar quote includes

Ask every bidder for the same items, in writing:

• System size in kilowatts, and the panel count.
• Panel and inverter makes and model numbers, so you can look up the spec sheets and warranties yourself.
• Battery details, if one is quoted: usable capacity, which circuits it backs up and its warranty.
• Production estimate by month for the first year, with shading and roof orientation accounted for.
• Cash price, with solar, battery, roof work and electrical upgrades listed separately.
• Financing terms, if offered, quoted apart from the cash price: rate, term, escalator and total of payments.
• Warranties for panels, inverters, workmanship and roof penetrations, each with who honors it.
• Who installs and who services the system, with license numbers for both.
• A schedule: when work would start and roughly when it would finish.

A quote that shows only a monthly payment, without the math under it, is incomplete. Ask for the missing pieces before you compare.

The two state forms that come with every solar contract

California standardizes part of the comparison for you. Business and Professions Code section 7169 requires a solar energy system disclosure document on the front or cover page of every solar contract, printed in boldface 16-point type. It must show the total cost and payments for the system including financing costs, how and to whom you can complain, and your cancellation rights, and it must be in the language used in the sales presentation (CSLB, checked September 23, 2026).

A second document, the Solar Energy System Supporting Information form, summarizes your financial obligations and gives a standardized bill savings estimate along with the inputs and assumptions behind it (CPUC, checked September 23, 2026). The CPUC caps the utility rate increase that estimate may assume at 10% a year. Because every provider fills out the same form, it is the one savings number you can compare across bids. The CPUC suggests asking a simple question: is this standardized estimate significantly different from other savings estimates you gave me, and if so, why?

The law requires the documents before a sale is completed. There is nothing stopping you from asking for draft versions with the quote, so you can compare them before you are anywhere near a signature.

How to compare solar quotes side by side

1. Put the price on a per-watt basis

Divide each cash price by the system size in watts. A 7-kilowatt system is 7,000 watts. Price per watt lets you compare a larger system with a smaller one, and it is how the statewide solar cost guide states its benchmark.

2. Check the production estimates against each other

Divide each first-year production estimate by the system size in kilowatts. If one bidder expects far more output per kilowatt from the same roof, ask why, and run your address through NREL’s PVWatts calculator as a neutral check.

3. Check the size against your use

The CPUC notes that a system sized to cover all of your use “isn’t necessarily the best investment” and that systems are typically sized to around 80–85% of the previous year’s use. On the Net Billing Tariff, a system that produces more than your last 12 months of use needs a signed attestation that you expect your use to grow, and it can go no higher than 150% of that history (CPUC, checked September 23, 2026). If a bid is well above your history, ask what it assumes, such as a future electric car.

4. Compare the savings on the same form

Line up the standardized bill savings estimates, not the sales projections. Then look at what is left on your bill under each design: under net billing, power you use at home saves more than power you export, so a design that exports most of its output will save less than its production suggests. The net billing explainer shows why.

5. Compare financing last

A loan quote can bundle a dealer fee into the amount you borrow, so the financed price and the cash price for the same system are rarely the same number. Get both in writing. Our explainer on solar dealer fees shows how to find the gap, and the cash, loan, lease and PPA comparison covers the rest.

Is my solar quote fair? Three ways to check

• Against your other quotes. Three bids on the same basis are the best benchmark you will get, which is why the CPUC asks for three.
• Against recent jobs near you. The DGStats search shows the cost per watt of recent projects near your ZIP code. The figures are self-reported and unverified, cover only PG&E, SCE and SDG&E territory, and are figured on AC capacity, so they run on a different basis from a quote priced per panel watt (CPUC DGStats, checked September 23, 2026). Read them as a range, not a price you are owed.
• Against the state picture. The California solar cost guide gives the statewide installed-price band and what moves a price within it, and the city cost guides add each city’s utility and permit details.

Red flags in a solar quote

• No cash price. A financed-only quote hides what the equipment costs. Ask for both numbers.
• “Sign today” pressure. A legitimate price holds long enough for you to compare it.
• Production with no shade analysis. A real estimate is modeled for your roof and its surroundings.
• Savings that lean on steep rate increases. Ask what rate increase is assumed; the standardized estimate may not assume more than 10% a year.
• A down payment above the legal limit. A contractor cannot ask for more than $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less, or take payments that exceed the value of work done or materials delivered (CSLB bulletin #20-22).
• A price quoted by someone who is not the contractor. Brokers and lead generators may refer you but may not quote.
• A company whose future is in doubt. Warranties are only as good as whoever stands behind them. Check the name against the solar bankruptcy and license record and read what survives if an installer goes bankrupt.
• A license that does not match. Look up the company and the salesperson with the CSLB’s Check a License tool before a second meeting.

After you choose: the cancellation window

Signing is not the last chance to back out. The CPUC guide says you have at least three business days to cancel for any reason, five if you are 65 or older, counted from when you receive a signed, dated copy of the contract; different rules may apply to a contract negotiated at the company’s own place of business (CPUC, checked September 23, 2026). The steps are in cancelling a solar contract before installation, and the installation timeline shows what happens between signing and switch-on.