What Happens at a Solar Consultation and Site Visit

Booking a solar consultation can feel like inviting a sales pitch into your living room. It doesn't have to be. A good consultation is a working session about your home, your bills and your options, and you should come away knowing more than when you started, whether or not you go ahead.

This article covers what happens at the consultation, how to prepare, what to leave with, and the detailed site survey that follows if you sign up. For the whole project from first quote to power-on, see our guide to going solar, step by step.

What is a solar consultation?

A solar consultation is a meeting with an installer to find out whether solar fits your home and what it would cost you. It usually happens before anyone climbs on your roof. The installer works from your electric bills and satellite images of your house to build a preliminary design, then walks you through it.

At Evergreen Solar, the consultation has three parts:

1. A short discovery call. One of our Solar Pros learns about your home's electricity needs and future plans and reviews our programs with you.
2. System design. Our design team studies your usage and your roof's solar potential and lays out a system to match.
3. The savings review. Your Solar Pro checks the property against the design, gives a short "Solar 101" overview of how solar works, then shows your proposal: where the panels go and what you could save.

We only contact homeowners who ask to hear from us. No cold calls, no surprise visits, and no pressure to sign at the table.

What does a solar consultation cover?

Whoever you meet with, a useful consultation should cover five things.

• Your bill and usage. The system is sized from a full year of electricity use, so expect questions about your bills. Our post on why solar companies need your electric bill explains what they look for.
• Your roof, from above. Satellite imagery shows the roof's direction, pitch, shade and open space. The Department of Energy notes that panels typically perform best on south-facing roofs with a slope between 15 and 40 degrees, though other roofs may be suitable too.
• A preliminary design. How many panels fit, where they go, and how much electricity the system should make in a year compared with what you use.
• Every way to pay. Evergreen Solar offers cash, loan, lease, power purchase agreement (PPA) and prepaid PPA, and prices each one on the same design. With a lease or PPA, the system qualifies for the 30% federal credit, so you get a lower rate, often a better deal than buying. Our guide to solar financing compares all five.
• Incentives for your state. SMART 3.0 in Massachusetts, RRES in Connecticut, or the Renewable Energy Fund grant in Rhode Island, and who applies for each.

Expect an honest read on fit, too. If your roof is heavily shaded or near the end of its life, that should come up here, not after you sign. If solar isn't right for your home, we'll tell you.

What should you have ready for a solar consultation?

A little preparation makes the design more accurate and the meeting shorter.

• 12 months of electric bills. One bill shows a single season. A full year shows your summer and winter swings, which is what the system has to cover. Your utility's online account can usually show the whole history.
• Your roof's age. A rough idea is enough. Our rule of thumb is that a roof under about 15 years old and in good condition is usually fine for solar. Our guide to whether your roof is a good fit for solar covers what else matters.
• Plans for an electric car or heat pump. Both raise your usage, and the system can be sized for them now. In Connecticut, RRES limits production to your past usage but allows extra room for up to two electric cars and a heat pump, so mention them early.
• Plans to move or renovate. They affect which way to pay makes the most sense.
• Your questions, written down. Who applies for the incentives? What do the warranties cover? What happens if I sell? Our solar FAQs are a good starting list.

What should you leave a solar consultation with?

You should leave with a proposal you can take home and read without anyone in the room. At a minimum, it should show:

• The system size in kilowatts and the expected yearly production in kilowatt-hours.
• A panel layout on your roof.
• The price of each way to pay, with the monthly cost next to your current average bill.
• Which incentives the numbers assume, and who applies for them.
• The warranties and guarantees, in writing.

For most homes the solar payment comes in lower than the electric bill, and across Evergreen Solar customers, savings average about 15% on day one. Every Evergreen Solar package includes a 25-year comprehensive solar warranty and a 25-year power production guarantee.

If you are getting more than one proposal, line them up on the same terms before you decide. What you shouldn't leave with is a signed contract you haven't read. The Federal Trade Commission warns against being rushed or asked to sign on a tablet without seeing the full agreement.

What happens during a solar site survey?

The site survey, sometimes called a site assessment, is the detailed in-person check that turns the preliminary design into a final one. It happens after you sign up. At Evergreen Solar, a technician visits within 7 to 10 days and looks at three areas.

• The roof. Measurements, pitch, shading and the condition of the shingles, to confirm the panel layout fits and the roof will last under the panels.
• The attic. A look at the structure under the roof, where the racking will attach.
• Your home's electrical system. The main panel's size and its space for a new breaker, since the system connects there.

The survey can turn up things a satellite image can't, such as a vent where a panel was planned or an electrical panel that needs an upgrade. Finding them now keeps surprises out of installation day.

It is also the moment to settle the roof question. If your roof will need replacing in the next several years, doing it before the panels go on avoids paying to remove and reinstall them later. Our guide to solar and your roof walks through the options, including our roof + solar package, where the new roof is included with your solar installation at a reduced price and carries a 50-year warranty.

What happens after the site survey?

Our design team uses the survey to draw the blueprints, the plans that go to your town and utility for approval. That takes 2 to 3 weeks. If anything changed from the design you saw at the consultation, such as a panel moving or the system size shifting, we review it with you before the plans are final.

The final design estimates production from historical weather data for your area, so the system averages out over a full year of sunny summers and short winter days. From there, permits from your town and approval from your utility typically take 4 to 6 weeks, and the installation itself takes 1 to 2 days. Timing varies by town and utility.

The Department of Energy notes the same pattern nationally: the installation takes only a few days, while permits and inspections can take weeks to months. Our step-by-step guide covers each of those stages.

Ready to see where your home stands? Call us at (508) 507-2908 to book a pressure-free consultation, and we'll price every way to pay on the same design.

Frequently asked questions