We get a version of the same call almost every week. Somebody in Nixa or Ozark sat through a two-hour sales pitch the night before, a salesperson left a contract on their kitchen table, and now they’re staring at it wondering what they just got talked into. Usually the deadline pressure is already on. “This price is only good through Friday.”
That’s the moment to slow down.
Solar is a 25-year decision. The panels will be on your roof longer than most people keep their cars, their jobs, sometimes their houses. A good system pays you back quietly for decades. A bad deal follows you around just as long. The difference usually comes down to questions nobody told you to ask.
So here’s the list. Print it, take it to whoever you’re talking to, and watch how they answer. The answers matter, but how comfortable they are answering matters just as much.
Questions about the company itself
Who actually installs the system, and who do I call when something breaks?
A lot of national companies sell the job in your living room, then hand it off to a subcontractor crew you’ve never met. Two years later, when you have a question, you’re on hold with a call center three states away. Ask point blank: are your installers employees, and if I have a problem in 2031, who picks up the phone? We’re in Republic. When you call us, you get us.
How long have you been doing this, and can I see local installs?
Solar has a lot of companies that show up after a good sales season and vanish after a bad one. Ask how long they’ve been installing in southwest Missouri specifically. Ask to drive by or see photos of real jobs in towns you recognize. Bolivar, Greenfield, Branson, your neighborhood.
What happens to my warranty if you go out of business?
This one makes salespeople squirm, and that’s the point. A 25-year warranty from a company that’s been around 18 months is worth thinking hard about.
Questions about the equipment
What panels and inverters are you putting on my house, by brand and model?
You should get specific names, not “premium tier panels.” Write down the panel brand, the wattage per panel, and the inverter or microinverter brand. We’ve seen contracts that just say “solar modules” with no brand at all. That’s a red flag.
Are these the panels going on my roof, or a substitute if those aren’t available?
Some contracts reserve the right to swap equipment for “comparable” products. Ask what comparable means and who decides.
If I want battery backup, what battery, and why that one?
Battery is where a lot of confusion lives. We work with Tesla, HomeGrid, EG4, StorzPower and a few others. There are real differences between brands in how they handle outages and how long they last. If someone can’t explain why they picked a specific battery for your situation, that’s a problem.
Questions about the money
What is the total cash price, before any tax credit or financing?
You’d be surprised how often the only number people remember is the monthly payment. Get the full system price in writing. Then get the financing terms separately: interest rate, term length, and any other loan fees baked into the loan. Financed solar almost always costs more than cash solar, and that’s fine, just know the real numbers.
What are you telling me about the federal solar tax credit, and is that in writing?
Be careful here. Tax credit rules have changed, and they keep changing. (CONFIRM current federal residential solar tax credit status and percentage before relying on any figure.) No honest installer will guarantee what you’ll get back from the IRS, because that depends on your tax situation, not theirs. If a salesperson promises you a specific dollar refund, ask them to put that guarantee in writing with their name on it. They won’t.
Are permits and inspections included, and who pays for them?
We pull permits and handle inspections as part of the job. Some companies leave that to you, or charge extra. Ask.
Questions about the roof and the long haul
What’s your workmanship warranty, and what exactly does it cover?
There’s a difference between the panel manufacturer’s warranty and the installer’s warranty on the actual work, the roof penetrations, the wiring, the mounting. Ask how long their labor warranty runs and whether it covers roof leaks at the mount points. Our labor warranty is 25 years.
If I need a new roof later, who takes the panels off and puts them back?
Roofs in Missouri take a beating. Hail, wind, age. At some point you may need to reroof, and the panels have to come off and go back on. That’s called a detach and reset. Ask whether they do it, what it roughly costs, and whether doing it themselves keeps your warranty intact. Be careful on having someone not authorized remove them. This can void warranties, and cause other issues when not put back on correctly.
Do you handle hail and insurance claims?
This is a big one around here, and most homeowners don’t think about it until the storm hits. Southwest Missouri gets hammered by hail. When it damages a solar array, insurance adjusters often want to replace only the panels that look broken. Hidden cell damage inside the “fine” panels can cause failures down the road. We’ve spent years learning how to document that for adjusters. A company that’s never handled a hail claim won’t know how.
What to do with all this
You don’t need to fire off all twelve questions like an interrogation. Pick the ones that matter most to you, and pay attention to whether the answers are specific or slippery. Good companies like these questions. It means you’re taking the decision as seriously as they do.
And don’t let a Friday deadline rush you. A real solar deal is still a good deal next week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I get more than one solar quote? Yes. Two or three is reasonable. Just make sure you’re comparing the same things: same system size, same equipment quality, same warranty. The cheapest bid is sometimes the cheapest for a reason.
Is high-pressure “sign tonight” pricing normal in solar? It’s common, but it’s not a good sign. The economics of a solar system don’t actually change overnight. If a price genuinely expires in 24 hours, ask why.
What’s the difference between the panel warranty and the installer warranty? The manufacturer warranties the panels themselves against defects. The installer warranties the workmanship, the mounting, the wiring, and usually the roof penetrations. You want both, and you want to know how long each one lasts.
Do I need battery backup, or is that just an upsell? Depends on what you want. Battery mainly buys you power during outages. If keeping the lights on through an ice storm matters to you, it’s worth a conversation. If your only goal is offsetting your bill, you may not need it.
What if my installer goes out of business? Your manufacturer panel warranty usually still stands, but the workmanship warranty often dies with the company. That’s why local track record matters as much as the paper warranty.
