Solar and inverters
Solar and inverter installation quotes in Gauteng: what to compare
A useful solar quote connects the load, battery, inverter, panels, installation, protection, approvals, and aftercare. Compare the system design rather than the headline kilowatt figure.
Describe the load you need to protect
List the circuits or appliances that must remain available during an outage, how long they should run, and which loads can be switched off. A fridge, lights, router, alarm, pump, geyser, and cooking appliance create different energy and starting-load questions.
Provide recent electricity information where available, but ask the installer to explain the assumptions. A quote based only on an average bill may not describe the short peaks that affect inverter choice.
Separate energy from power
Ask the installer to explain the difference between the inverter’s power capability and the battery’s usable energy. A system may have enough stored energy for a long period but still fail when several high-starting or high-load appliances run together.
Record essential and non-essential circuits, starting loads, expected simultaneous use, battery reserve, and the conditions under which the system will shed or restore loads.
Compare the system components
Ask for the inverter model and capacity, battery usable energy and warranty, panel quantity and orientation, protections, changeover or essential-load board, monitoring, installation materials, and future expansion limits.
A battery’s headline capacity is not the same as energy available to the home. Ask about usable capacity, depth-of-discharge assumptions, charge limits, warranty conditions, temperature, and what happens when the battery reaches its reserve.
Check the roof and site assumptions
The quote should identify roof or mounting condition, orientation, shading, cable runs, access, structural assumptions, electrical board, earthing, protection, and the work needed to make the installation safe.
Ask what the installer inspected and what remains provisional. A remote quote based on an address or bill may need to change after the property is surveyed.
Clarify installation and compliance
Identify the installer, site inspection, municipal or utility requirements where relevant, certificates or documentation, changeover design, isolation points, and the handover record. The address, existing installation, municipality, network rules, and system design can change the requirements.
Do not accept a generic promise that every home has the same approval path. Ask which party handles each document and what the homeowner receives at completion.
Price service after installation
Compare monitoring, maintenance, firmware support, call-outs, replacement parts, battery end-of-life, workmanship warranty, manufacturer warranty, and response expectations. Keep manuals, serial numbers, photographs, certificates, and account credentials under the homeowner’s control.
Ask what happens during a fault, communication failure, battery degradation, inverter replacement, or a change in household demand. The system should have an owner and a service path.
Compare quotes like-for-like
Put each proposal into columns for load assumptions, inverter, battery, panels, protections, installation, certificates, monitoring, warranty, maintenance, VAT, exclusions, and expansion. Mark each item as included, provisional, or missing.
Do not compare one system on panel count and another on battery size. Ask each provider to explain expected operation during a normal outage and a high-load event.
Keep the referral boundary clear
HomeQuote Gauteng will keep installer referrals disabled until provider identity, geography, consent, buyer rules, and the accepted referral event are recorded. Use current product and installer terms rather than hard-coded savings promises.
A product or lead route cannot certify design, compliance, installation quality, or guaranteed savings. The homeowner should receive the technical documents and keep control of the system accounts.