Pennsylvania
How PECO, PPL and Duquesne Light settle your solar credits at year end, how to look up an installer’s registration, and what the state’s contract rules say.
How to compare solar quotes
Put every solar quote into the same four things: size in kilowatts of direct current (kW DC), first-year output in kilowatt-hours (kWh), total paid over the same years, and what the price leaves out. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises getting detailed bids from several companies.
Source: FTC, “Solar Power for Your Home” (April 2022). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
In this guide
Quotes can arrive in different formats, so lining them up is the first job. A line the quote leaves blank is a question for the installer, and the answer belongs in writing. Fill the blank table with up to three quotes, and practice first on the worked example, which uses made-up numbers. The sheet works on any solar quote, whoever wrote it.
My Solar Brokers is a comparison website that connects homeowners in Pennsylvania and New Jersey with installer partners, and it publishes this guide under its own name. We do not install solar.
Why do two solar quotes for the same roof look so different?
Two quotes for one roof differ because each describes a different system, assumes different sunlight and sets out a different way to pay.
The FTC lists what moves a system’s output: its size, the hours of direct, unshaded sunlight the roof gets, the roof’s pitch, age, condition and direction, and snow, dust or shade over the panels. An installer who assumes more sun or less shade quotes more output from the same panels. Payment moves the total too: the FTC separates buying with cash or a loan from a lease, where you pay to use a system you do not own, and from a power purchase agreement (PPA), where you buy the power the system generates at a price the provider sets. Putting every quote in the same units shows which differences are real.
Source: FTC, “Solar Power for Your Home” (April 2022). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
What should a solar quote show?
The FTC says a bid should put the system’s size and expected output, the full cost of installation including permit fees, any commitment on output and the warranties in writing. The table adds the lines that decide whether two quotes can be compared at all.
| Line | What to find | Why it changes the comparison |
|---|---|---|
| System size and equipment | Panel count and watts each, the inverter’s kW AC, and the make and model of both. | A quote can state size in DC or in AC, two different numbers. |
| Expected first-year output | Kilowatt-hours for year one, with the roof direction, tilt and shade it assumes, and any written minimum. | Installers can assume different sun, tilt and shade for the same roof. |
| Total price and what it leaves out | The full installation cost with permit fees, and each item left out, such as roof repair or an electrical panel upgrade. | A lower total can leave out work another quote includes. |
| How you pay | Cash, loan, lease or PPA, with every payment, any yearly increase and every fee. | Payment types compare only as a total over the same number of years. |
| Incentives assumed | Which ones, who claims them, and the price before any credit or rebate. | A total shown after a credit cannot sit beside one shown before it. |
| Warranties | What each covers (panels, inverter, workmanship), for how long, and who honors it if the installer closes. | The Department of Energy (DOE) says inverters are expected to need replacing at least once in a 25-year array life. |
| Roof and permits | Who files the permits and the utility application, by when, and what happens to the panels if the roof needs repair later. | The FTC says to compare what happens if the roof needs repair after installation. |
| Battery or backup, if included | Its capacity in kWh and what it would run in an outage. | The DOE says grid-connected panels are designed to switch off if grid power cuts out; running a home takes a properly configured inverter and a storage system. |
| Dates | The quote date, the date the price stops holding, and the start and finish dates. | A lapsed price cannot be compared. |
Source: FTC, “Solar Power for Your Home” (April 2022); DOE, “Solar Photovoltaic System Design Basics” and “Solar and Resilience Basics” (both undated). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
kW DC, kW AC and kWh: which numbers go in the table?
Enter system size in kW DC, the sum of the panels’ wattage, and first-year output in kWh, and record the inverter’s kW AC as a separate number.
- Kilowatt (kW) and kilowatt-hour (kWh)
- A kilowatt measures power, the rate electricity flows at one moment, and equals 1,000 watts. A kilowatt-hour is one kilowatt generated or used for one hour; utilities generally count electricity in kilowatt-hours.
- kW DC
- The panels’ combined wattage: panel count times watts each, divided by 1,000. Panels produce direct current (DC).
- kW AC
- The inverter’s output once it has converted the panels’ DC into the alternating current (AC) your home uses.
Made-up numbers
10 panels × 400 W = 4,000 W = 4.0 kW DC
Ten panels of 400 watts add up to 4,000 watts, or 4.0 kW DC. With an inverter whose output is 3.6 kW AC, one system is 4.0 kW in one quote and 3.6 kW in another. Ask which number each quote uses, and write kW DC in your table.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), “Measuring electricity” (undated); DOE, “Solar Photovoltaic System Design Basics” (undated). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
How do you check a quote’s output estimate?
Compare each quote’s first-year kilowatt-hours with your own yearly use, then run the same system size, tilt and direction through PVWatts for a second reading.
Treasury’s consumer advisory asks how many kilowatt-hours a month the system would produce on average and how that compares with your current usage; your electric bill shows what you use. PVWatts is the estimator of the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR, formerly the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, renamed 1 December 2025). It takes the system size in DC kilowatts, the tilt and the compass direction, and returns an output estimate. The NLR says its predictions include many inherent assumptions and uncertainties, so read the result as a second opinion, not a verdict.
Roof direction matters to both readings. The DOE says south-facing roofs with a slope between 15 and 40 degrees typically give panels their strongest performance, and it names excessive tree shade as a drawback. A quote for a roof facing another way, or sitting under trees, should say what direction and shade it assumed. Divide first-year kWh by kW DC to get output per kW DC, which puts different sizes on one footing. When two quotes for the same roof differ on it, ask why.
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Before You Purchase and Finance Solar Panels” (undated; announced 7 Aug 2024); NLR, PVWatts (website version 8.7.4); DOE, renaming announcement (1 Dec 2025); DOE, “Homeowner’s Guide to Solar” (undated; roof guidance only). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
How do you put cash, loan, lease and PPA quotes on one scale?
Add up everything you would pay over the same number of years for each quote, then compare the totals, because a monthly payment alone hides the term, the fees and any yearly increase.
| Payment type | Add up |
|---|---|
| Cash | The price, plus any fees paid at signing. |
| Loan | The monthly payment times the number of months, plus the down payment and any fees at signing. |
| Lease or PPA | First-year payments times the multiplier below. |
For a lease or PPA with a yearly increase, multiply the first year’s payments by the multiplier for the term. For 20 years it is 20.00 with no increase, 24.30 at 2% a year, 26.87 at 3% and 29.78 at 4%. For other terms it is ((1 + r)n − 1) ÷ r, with r the yearly increase as a decimal (3% is 0.03) and n the number of years. Use the increase your contract states; these rates are examples. The FTC notes that some leases run 20 years.
| Yearly increase | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| None | 20.00 |
| 2% a year | 24.30 |
| 3% a year | 26.87 |
| 4% a year | 29.78 |
Source: FTC, “Solar Power for Your Home” (April 2022), for the lease term. The multipliers are arithmetic: the sum of 20 yearly payments that each rise by the same percentage. Checked 9 Oct 2026.
Ask for the cash price and the loan principal on every loan quote, and for the price before any credit or rebate is subtracted. Treasury’s advisory adds that you are not required to take the financing a salesperson suggests, and that shopping with other lenders lets you compare their fees.
The FTC says Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing is available only in the few states that take part, and that it places a property tax lien on your home that takes priority over your mortgage. Ask whether your mortgage company allows the lien and whether paying early carries a fee.
Source: Treasury, “Before You Purchase and Finance Solar Panels” (undated; announced 7 Aug 2024); FTC, “Solar Power for Your Home” (April 2022). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
Printable checklist and blank comparison table
Print this section or copy it onto paper: check off the list for each quote, then enter the numbers in the table, one column for each quote.
Printable checklist
Check off each line for every quote. A line you cannot check off is a question to ask.
- Size in kW DC, and the inverter’s kW AC
- Make and model of the panels and the inverter
- First-year kWh, and the roof direction, tilt and shade it assumes
- Price, with what it includes and what it leaves out
- Price before any credit or rebate is subtracted
- Every payment, first to last, with any yearly increase and fees
- Incentives assumed, and who claims them
- Warranties, and who honors each one
- Who files the permits and the utility application, and by what date
- The cancellation notice in your paperwork, and the last day it gives
- Quote date, and the date the price stops holding
- Your questions sent in writing, and the answers kept
Blank comparison table
Use the same units in every row and the same number of years for every quote.
| Line | How to fill it in | Quote 1 | Quote 2 | Quote 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Installer name | As written on the quote | |||
| Panels | Count × watts each | |||
| System size (kW DC) | Panels × watts ÷ 1,000 | |||
| Inverter output (kW AC) | As written on the quote | |||
| First-year output (kWh) | As written on the quote | |||
| Output per kW DC (kWh) | kWh ÷ kW DC | |||
| Payment type | Cash, loan, lease or PPA | |||
| Total paid over ___ years | The rules in the payments table | |||
| Total paid ÷ first-year kWh (practice ratio, not a price per kWh) | One scale for quotes of different sizes | |||
| Cash price per watt DC (cash quotes only) | Price ÷ (kW DC × 1,000); ignores financing and exclusions | |||
| Left out of the price | List each item |
Worked example with made-up numbers
Three made-up quotes for one roof show how the table works. Every number below is invented for practice; none is a real quote or a guide to what any installer charges. Work through it with a pencil before you open your own quotes.
- Quote A, cash
- 10 panels of 400 W, 3.6 kW AC inverter, $10,000 total, estimated first-year output 4,200 kWh.
- Quote B, lease
- 11 panels of 400 W, 4.0 kW AC inverter, $50 a month in year 1 rising 3% each year for 20 years, estimated first-year output 4,840 kWh.
- Quote C, loan
- 10 panels of 400 W, 3.6 kW AC inverter, $1,000 down, $110 a month for 120 months, $300 fee at signing, estimated first-year output 4,100 kWh.
| Line | Quote A | Quote B | Quote C |
|---|---|---|---|
| System size (kW DC) | 10 × 400 ÷ 1,000 = 4.0 | 11 × 400 ÷ 1,000 = 4.4 | 10 × 400 ÷ 1,000 = 4.0 |
| Output per kW DC (kWh) | 4,200 ÷ 4.0 = 1,050 | 4,840 ÷ 4.4 = 1,100 | 4,100 ÷ 4.0 = 1,025 |
| Total paid over 20 years | $10,000 | $50 × 12 = $600 in year 1; $600 × 26.87 = $16,122 | $110 × 120 = $13,200; plus $1,000 and $300 = $14,500 |
| Monthly payment in year 20 | None | $50 × 1.0319 = $87.68 | None (loan paid off after month 120) |
| 20-year total ÷ first-year kWh (practice ratio, not a price per kWh) | 10,000 ÷ 4,200 = 2.38 | 16,122 ÷ 4,840 = 3.33 | 14,500 ÷ 4,100 = 3.54 |
- Quote B’s system is larger, 4.4 kW DC against 4.0, and its output per kW DC is 1,100 kWh against 1,050 for Quote A and 1,025 for Quote C. Ask all three installers what roof direction, tilt, shade and losses they assumed. The gap alone is no reason to pick or drop a quote.
- The last row only puts the quotes on one scale. It ignores payment timing, repairs, electricity prices and the years after 20, so it cannot show which kind of quote costs more in practice.
Which contract lines should you check against the quote?
Find each line below in the contract, copy its number into your table and check it against the quote; a mismatch is a question to settle before you sign.
| Contract line | What to look for | Copy into the table |
|---|---|---|
| Price, payments and scope | Every payment, its due date and what triggers it; who files the permits; the work the price leaves out. | Total paid; each item left out |
| Cancellation notice | The notice of the right to cancel in your paperwork, the last day it gives and how to give notice. | Last day to cancel |
| Output estimate | An estimate or a written commitment, and what happens if output falls short. | kWh a year |
| Yearly increase (lease or PPA) | The percentage, and whether it applies every year. | Year-1 and year-20 payment |
| Selling the home | Whether you may transfer the contract to the buyer, whether you must give the company written notice first, any transfer fee, and any lien filed against the system. | Any transfer fee; any lien |
| Credits and warranties | Who owns the credits the system earns; what each warranty covers, for how long, and who honors it. | Owner named; years |
| If the company closes or sells the contract | What happens to the system and to each warranty. | Who stands behind each |
| End of term | Buyout, renewal or removal. Treasury’s advisories say a lease or PPA customer does not automatically own the system at the end and may have to buy it at “fair market value”. | Buyout price |
Source: FTC, “Solar Power for Your Home” (April 2022); Treasury, “Before You Sign a Solar Lease Agreement”, “Before You Sign a Power Purchase Agreement” and “Before You Purchase and Finance Solar Panels” (all undated; announced 7 Aug 2024). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
Which questions should you put to every installer?
Put the same questions to every installer in writing, and record each answer next to its quote with the date.
- Who files the permits and the utility’s connection application, and by what date?
- What does the output estimate assume about roof direction, tilt and shade, and why does it differ from the other quotes?
- What is not in the price, and who pays if it is needed, such as roof repair, an electrical panel upgrade, tree trimming or trenching?
- Loan: what are the interest rate, the cash price and the loan principal, why do the last two differ, and is there a charge for paying early?
- Lease or PPA: what is the yearly increase, what does a buyout cost, and what happens if you sell the home or the company sells the contract?
- Who owns the system and the credits it earns, and what happens to the system and its warranties if the company goes out of business?
Check the company as well as the quote. The FTC advises checking its record with state and local consumer protection agencies and with your state contractors licensing board, and it lists pressure to sign or pay at once among its warning signs. Treasury adds that you should get the transaction details, and a paper copy of the contract, in writing, receive every document in a form you can keep, and take care signing anything on the seller’s computer or tablet.
Source: FTC, “Solar Power for Your Home” (April 2022) and “How to avoid getting burned by solar or clean energy scams” (7 Aug 2024); Treasury, “Before You Purchase and Finance Solar Panels”. Checked 9 Oct 2026.
Questions about comparing solar quotes
How many solar quotes should you compare?
The FTC advises getting detailed bids from several companies. The blank table has room for three; add a second sheet for more, and keep the same rows for each quote.
How long should a solar quote hold its price?
As long as the quote says it does, so look for two dates: when it was written and when its price stops holding. If either is missing, ask for it in writing before you compare.
Is a lower total enough to choose a quote?
No. A lower total can come from a smaller system, work left out of the price or a shorter term. Compare output per kW DC, the left-out list and the term before the total.
What if an installer will not fill in a blank line?
Then that quote cannot sit in your table, and the blank line is your next question. Ask again in writing, and keep the reply with the quote.
Where do the rules behind a quote change by market?
How the power you send back to the grid is credited, who regulates your electric company and where you look an installer up all change by market, so each market has its own guide. Ask each installer which rule for exported power its estimate assumes.
New Jersey
What is changing for the state’s solar incentive and net metering, and how the state’s utilities differ.
Find your market’s rules
Your ZIP code finds your market, and each market has its own rules for the power you send back, for connecting to the grid and for looking up an installer.
The checklist and the table help you read a quote. Your own quote, contract and utility documents decide what applies to your home.
Sources
Each source was checked on 9 Oct 2026. Undated pages are marked.
- Federal Trade Commission, Solar Power for Your Home (April 2022).
- Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Alert, How to avoid getting burned by solar or clean energy scams (7 Aug 2024).
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Consumer Advisory, Before You Purchase and Finance Solar Panels (undated; announced in the Treasury, CFPB and FTC release of 7 Aug 2024).
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Consumer Advisory, Before You Sign a Solar Lease Agreement (undated; announced 7 Aug 2024).
- U.S. Department of the Treasury, Consumer Advisory, Before You Sign a Power Purchase Agreement (undated; announced 7 Aug 2024).
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Measuring electricity (undated).
- U.S. Department of Energy, Solar Photovoltaic System Design Basics (undated).
- U.S. Department of Energy, Solar and Resilience Basics (undated).
- U.S. Department of Energy, Homeowner’s Guide to Solar (undated; roof guidance only).
- National Laboratory of the Rockies, PVWatts Calculator (website version 8.7.4; undated).
- U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Department Renames NREL “National Lab of the Rockies” (1 Dec 2025).