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Residential Solar Quote Comparison Planner: Price per Watt, Production Estimate Check, Panel and Inverter Specs, Warranty and Loan Dealer Fees, Incentive Reality Check, and Installer Questions
Compare home solar quotes side by side as the homeowner's advocate: price per watt, each installer's production claim checked against your own PVWatts estimate, equipment and warranty differences, the hidden dealer fee inside solar loans, incentives that may no longer apply, and the questions to ask before you sign.
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Prompt
Act as a residential solar energy consultant who works for the homeowner, not the installer, and compares solar quotes on price per watt, realistic production, equipment, warranties, and financing so the homeowner signs the right one. Inputs: - Quotes: installer, system size in kW, panel model and count, inverter type, cash price, claimed annual production in kWh: [Quotes] - Utility bill details: annual usage in kWh, rate per kWh, net metering or export rule as pasted from the utility: [UtilityDetails] - Roof and site: orientation, tilt, shade, roof age and material: [RoofAndSite] - Your own production estimate (for example from NREL PVWatts) for each design: [IndependentEstimate] - Financing offers: loan amount, rate, term, any dealer fee, lease or PPA terms: [FinancingOffers] - Incentive notes: what each quote claims, and what you have confirmed: [IncentiveNotes] - Output format: [Format] Generate: 1. A side by side quote comparison table from Quotes: size, equipment, cash price, and price per watt (cash price divided by watts). 2. A production estimate check: each installer's claimed kWh against IndependentEstimate, the percent difference, and specific yield (kWh per kW), flagging claims more than 10 percent above the independent estimate. 3. Offset and value: percent of UtilityDetails usage covered, first year bill value at the current rate, and a rough simple payback, clearly labeled rough. 4. Equipment and warranty comparison: panel and inverter product warranties, production warranty, workmanship warranty, and roof penetration warranty. 5. A loan reality check from FinancingOffers: loan amount versus cash price, the implied dealer fee, and what that does to price per watt. 6. An incentive reality check from IncentiveNotes: each incentive a quote claims, whether it is confirmed, and what to verify with a tax preparer or the utility. 7. Roof questions from RoofAndSite: whether to reroof first and who removes panels later. 8. Installer questions for each quote and a decision summary. Constraints: - Use only the numbers in the inputs; show every calculation. - Do not give tax advice; mark unconfirmed incentives as [verify]. - No made up savings, rate increases, or prices. No em dashes.
Instructions
Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Generated Output
This image was generated using the prompt above.
Examples
Example Input
Quotes: SunPeak: 8.2 kW, 20 x 410 W panels, microinverters, cash $24,600, claims 10,400 kWh per year. BrightRoof: 7.6 kW, 19 x 400 W panels, string inverter, cash $21,280, claims 10,900 kWh per year. UtilityDetails: 11,500 kWh per year, $0.14 per kWh, utility page says net metering credits exports at the full retail rate monthly RoofAndSite: south and west roof faces, 25 degree tilt, light morning shade from one oak, asphalt shingle roof 14 years old IndependentEstimate: my PVWatts runs: SunPeak design 10,150 kWh per year; BrightRoof design 9,750 kWh per year FinancingOffers: BrightRoof 25 year loan at 3.99% for $27,300; SunPeak cash only IncentiveNotes: SunPeak quote subtracts a 30% federal tax credit ($7,380); my notes say the federal residential clean energy credit ended for expenditures after 2025, not confirmed with my tax preparer Format: comparison table, production check, offset, warranties, loan, incentives, roof, questions, summary
Example Output
QUOTE COMPARISON | | SunPeak | BrightRoof | | Size | 8.2 kW (20 x 410 W) | 7.6 kW (19 x 400 W) | | Inverter | microinverters | string inverter | | Cash price | $24,600 | $21,280 | | Price per watt | $24,600 / 8,200 = $3.00 | $21,280 / 7,600 = $2.80 | PRODUCTION CHECK - SunPeak: claims 10,400 vs your 10,150; 10,400 / 10,150 = 2.5% higher. Specific yield claimed 1,268 kWh per kW. Reasonable. - BrightRoof: claims 10,900 vs your 9,750; 10,900 / 9,750 = 11.8% higher. Claimed yield 1,434 kWh per kW. FLAG: above the 10% line. Ask for their shade report and modeling inputs. OFFSET AND VALUE (using your estimates) - SunPeak: 10,150 / 11,500 = 88% offset. First year value 10,150 x $0.14 = $1,421. Rough simple payback 24,600 / 1,421 = 17.3 years. - BrightRoof: 9,750 / 11,500 = 85% offset. First year value 9,750 x $0.14 = $1,365. Rough simple payback 21,280 / 1,365 = 15.6 years. Rough means no rate changes, panel degradation, or maintenance included. EQUIPMENT AND WARRANTIES Ask both installers for: panel product and production warranty years, inverter warranty (microinverters often carry longer terms than string inverters; confirm each), workmanship warranty, and roof penetration warranty. String inverters may need replacing during the system's life; ask BrightRoof for the replacement cost and who pays. LOAN REALITY CHECK (BrightRoof) - Loan $27,300 vs cash $21,280: difference $6,020. - Implied dealer fee: 6,020 / 27,300 = 22% of the loan. - Financed price per watt: 27,300 / 7,600 = $3.59, higher than SunPeak's cash price per watt. INCENTIVE REALITY CHECK - SunPeak subtracts a 30% federal credit ($24,600 x 0.30 = $7,380). Your notes say the federal residential clean energy credit ended for expenditures after 2025. [verify with your tax preparer] Until confirmed, compare quotes at full cash price. - Ask both installers for any state, utility, or local incentives in writing. ROOF Shingles are 14 years old. Ask each installer whether to reroof first, and the cost and process to remove and reinstall panels later. INSTALLER QUESTIONS SunPeak: Why is the incentive line in the price? Will you reissue the quote without it? BrightRoof: What shade data supports 10,900 kWh? What is the cash price if I bring my own loan? What does the string inverter replacement cost? Both: Who handles permits and utility interconnection? What production guarantee, if any, is in the contract? DECISION SUMMARY On cash price per watt BrightRoof is lower ($2.80 vs $3.00), but its production claim is 11.8% above your estimate and its loan adds a 22% dealer fee. If paying cash, BrightRoof is the better value only if it revises production and answers the inverter question. Do not count the federal credit until your tax preparer confirms it.