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Not all solar quotes are created equal.

Two quotes can show the same monthly payment and cost you $20,000 more over 25 years. Here’s what installers don’t spell out — and how to read any quote like a broker.

Interactive

The 2.9% Lie

Lease escalators sound tiny. “2.9% a year? Nothing.” Watch what 2.9% does over 25 years, side by side with fixed-rate options.

The 25-Year Showdown

Enter the monthly payment from a real quote and see the three structures play out.

Monthly payment quoted to you: $

$50$325$600

Lease, 2.9% escalator Lease, fixed Ownership, fixed rate

Escalating lease, yr 25

$—

25-yr cost, escalating

$—

25-yr cost, fixed

$—

And here’s the part the lease pitch skips: with ownership, those fixed payments end and the system is yours — 25 years of electricity, $0/month, and it adds value when you sell. With a lease, you keep paying, forever, for panels on your own roof.

Illustrative math, not a quote: payments level within each year, escalator compounding annually.

Tool #2

Price Per Watt: The Only Number That Matters

Monthly payments hide the truth. Price per watt is how installers actually compare quotes. Divide the price by system size and see where your quote lands.

System size (kW)

Quote price ($)

Green: strong deal. Yellow: typical range. Orange: high — worth shopping. Red: too high unless the price includes a battery. Cash and financed quotes are different sports: dealer fees can add 15–30% to a financed system, so compare financed-to-financed and cash-to-cash.

Checklist

Does Your Quote Have All 8?

A real quote answers these in writing. Check off everything yours covers.

Total system size in kW — not just a panel count.“32 panels” means nothing if a panel is 400W or 500W. Price per watt ($/W) — the fair way to compare.Price ÷ system size. If it’s not on the quote, do the math. Year-1 production estimate in kWh, in writing.“It’ll cover your bill” is a pitch, not a number. Panel and inverter brands + model numbers.Name-brand with specs, or “whatever’s in the truck”? Warranty terms spelled out — 25-yr parts & performance, plus workmanship.Who honors it, for how long, labor included? If leased: the escalator % in the contract.2.9% compounding annually? Flat? It changes everything — see the tool above. Full financing terms — rate, term, fees, total cost over the life.The monthly payment is marketing. The 25-year total is reality. Who services it — and what happens if they vanish.Installers exit markets. Ask what happens to your warranty then.

0 / 8

Nothing checked yet — tap the items your quote covers.

Real world

Same Roof, Three Quotes

An actual pattern we see on Rhode Island homes. Only one of these was the right answer.

Quote

The pitch

What it actually is

Quote A

$159/mo lease

2.9% escalator, year-25 payment hits $310/mo. $57k+ over 25 years for panels you never own.

Quote B

$2.80/W, cash

Fair price, owned outright, no escalator ever. Fixed cost, then free power. The quiet winner.

Quote C

“Lowest payment!”

$4.10/W financed with a fat dealer fee buried in the loan. “Low” monthly, highest total cost on the block.

This is why KnowSolar exists. We put your roof in front of every major installer — locally and nationally — and make them compete. You see the real options side by side, in plain English.

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