From proposal PDF to a decision you can explain
Home Solar Atlas does not assign an automatic winner. The workflow below is designed to make different proposals easier to compare while keeping missing data, financing meanings and contract details visible.
Check proposal completeness
Use the 21-item checklist to verify system, production, price, financing, installation scope, export-limit requirements and contract fields before trusting a comparison.
Open Solar Quote Checklist →Analyze one solar quote
Upload a text-based proposal PDF or enter values manually. Review normalized solar $/W, production, equipment, financing disclosures and warranty completeness, then continue into claim-specific checks when enough explicit data is detected.
Analyze one proposal →Compare two or three quotes
Put proposals for the same home side by side and compare normalized pricing, production, financing references, equipment, battery packages and readiness gaps.
Compare solar quotes →Check whether the price looks high
Use cost-per-watt context and current state pricing references to understand whether a proposal deserves more questions before you sign.
Check quote price context →Turn extracted proposal values into independent claim checks
When the PDF contains enough explicit information, Quote Analyzer can hand off only the minimum validated values needed by a dedicated checker. Each check stays separate from Analyzer readiness, and missing or ambiguous values are not silently invented.
Verify DC system size
When panel count and module wattage are explicit, the PDF review can calculate the module DC nameplate and compare it with the separately quoted system size. Mixed two-group arrays are supported; ambiguous groups are withheld instead of guessed.
Open System Size Claim Checker →Check first-year production
When the proposal includes annual production and a usable DC size, carry those two values into the Production Claim Checker. ZIP, roof tilt and array direction stay blank so the local PVWatts reference uses geometry you confirm.
Open Production Claim Checker →Review inverter DC/AC sizing
When combined inverter continuous AC capacity is explicit, compare it with the validated module-nameplate DC size. The ratio is a nameplate design reference, not an automatic clipping-loss estimate.
Open DC/AC Ratio Checker →Inspect sales and contract claims
Explicit solar offset, long-term savings, utility-rate escalation, lease or PPA escalation and other contract references remain separate from Analyzer math and can be opened in dedicated claim checkers without transferring the full PDF.
Open Savings Claim Checker →What the PDF handoffs do not transfer
The claim-checker links do not carry the uploaded PDF, raw proposal text, installer identity, homeowner street address or equipment serial numbers. Each handoff contains only the small set of numeric or categorical values needed for that specific review. Location-specific tools still require the homeowner to confirm the ZIP or other geometry inputs before calculating a reference.
Verify the quote from more than one angle
A proposal price is only one part of the decision. Cross-check DC system-size arithmetic, production, inverter nameplate sizing, export constraints, annual energy offset, financing, market context, roof potential, equipment and long-term savings assumptions before relying on a sales presentation or a low monthly payment.
Solar System Size Claim Checker
Check whether panel count multiplied by module wattage matches the proposal's quoted DC system size. Use it as a nameplate arithmetic check, not as a production forecast or engineering approval.
Open →Solar Production Claim Checker
Compare an installer's first-year annual kWh forecast with a local PVWatts planning reference using the same DC system size and a representative roof direction.
Open →Compare Solar Production Claims
Compare two installer first-year production forecasts on one shared ZIP, tilt and direction reference, normalized to kWh per installed kW.
Open →Solar DC/AC Ratio Checker
Compare the proposal's total module DC nameplate with combined inverter continuous AC output. Use it as an inverter-sizing review, not as an automatic clipping-loss percentage or design verdict.
Open →Solar Export Limit vs Inverter Checker
Compare an explicit utility or interconnection export cap with solar inverter continuous AC capacity, including zero-export cases, without treating the nameplate gap as annual curtailed energy.
Open →Solar Offset Claim Checker
Verify a proposal's stated 100%, 105% or 110% annual energy offset from household usage and first-year production, while keeping energy offset separate from utility-bill savings.
Open →Solar Savings Claim Checker
Test an installer 20-, 25- or 30-year savings story against a transparent no-solar utility-spend baseline and compare different utility-rate escalation assumptions.
Open →Compare Solar Savings Claims
Put two installer savings stories on the same current-bill baseline and surface horizon or utility-escalation mismatches before treating headline dollar claims as comparable.
Open →Solar Financing Hub
Compare cash, loans, leases and PPAs in 2026, including ownership, dealer fees, APR, payment step-ups, escalation, transfer rules and current federal homeowner-credit treatment.
Open →Solar Loan Calculator
Separate cash price, financing markup, APR, payment and total financing cost. Imported disclosure references stay distinct from the standard amortization model.
Open →Solar Lease & PPA Escalator Calculator
Check how an annual lease or PPA escalator compounds over a long contract and compare the modeled payment schedule with the same starting price at 0% escalation.
Open →Solar PPA Rate Crossover Calculator
Compare the contractual PPA cents-per-kWh path with a utility-rate scenario you choose and see whether the PPA rate stays below or crosses that reference during the contract horizon.
Open →Real Solar Prices
Compare moderated anonymized homeowner submissions normalized to solar-only dollars per watt where the sample is publishable.
Open →Solar Cost by State
Compare standardized planning prices across all 50 states before moving into a home-specific or proposal-specific analysis.
Open →Solar Roof Analyzer
Check address-level roof potential so a proposal can be reviewed against the physical home, not only the sales presentation.
Open →Equipment Research
Verify panel, inverter and battery specifications against the equipment actually named in the proposal.
Open →Submit an Anonymized Quote
Contribute a reviewed homeowner proposal to the moderated Home Solar Atlas price dataset without providing a name or street address.
Open →What to compare between solar proposals
- Solar-only cash-equivalent price and $/W: separate battery, roofing, main-panel or other non-solar work before comparing system price.
- Panel count, wattage and DC system size: verify that module count × module nameplate watts reconciles with the quoted DC kW before using system size in $/W or production comparisons. A mismatch is a review signal, not an engineering verdict.
- System size and first-year production: a larger production forecast is not automatically a better forecast; check the methodology, roof geometry, shade and assumptions.
- Inverter nameplate sizing: when a proposal explicitly provides total module DC kW and combined continuous inverter AC kW, compare the DC/AC ratio separately. The ratio is a design reference and does not by itself establish annual clipping loss.
- Grid export limit / power control: if the proposal or interconnection approval states a kW export cap or zero-export setting, keep it separate from inverter AC capacity and export compensation. Ask whether the production model includes the actual control behavior.
- Annual solar offset: verify the usage baseline behind a stated 100% or 110% offset, then keep the annual kWh ratio separate from utility-bill savings.
- Long-term savings assumptions: compare the savings horizon, starting utility bill or rate, utility escalation, export compensation and the proposal's definition of savings before treating two headline dollar amounts as equivalent.
- Exact equipment: compare panel, inverter or microinverter, battery model and quantity rather than accepting generic brand-level descriptions.
- Financing meaning: distinguish financed contract price, Regulation Z Amount Financed and loan amount or principal before comparing them with cash price.
- Payment schedule: review APR, term, Number of Payments, payment frequency, explicitly quoted payment amounts, Total of Payments, Finance Charge and any stepped, promotional, balloon or re-amortization conditions.
- Lease / PPA escalation: if the quote uses third-party ownership, model the contract escalator separately from utility-rate assumptions and compare the resulting contract price schedule before relying on a low starting payment or energy rate.
- PPA utility-rate story: if savings depend on the PPA rate remaining below future utility prices, test more than one utility-rate escalation scenario instead of treating the sales forecast as guaranteed.
- Installation and service scope: verify permitting, interconnection, electrical upgrades, monitoring, workmanship warranty, roof penetration coverage and change-order responsibilities.
Why monthly payment alone is not enough
A lower quoted monthly payment can come from a longer term, different financed amount, promotional payment period, stepped schedule or other contract structure. For loan proposals, compare the labeled financing disclosures and the underlying price before treating the monthly payment as a cost comparison.
When Home Solar Atlas detects an explicitly irregular payment schedule, the PDF workflow keeps ambiguous payment amounts out of automatic monthly-payment math rather than pretending one payment represents the full schedule. Always verify the original lender disclosure.
Privacy when reviewing proposal PDFs
The Quote Analyzer and Quote Compare PDF endpoints process supported text-based PDFs for the current request. Uploaded proposal PDFs are not automatically added to the public Real Solar Prices dataset. Contributing anonymized quote data is a separate action.