A Solar Quote Comparison Worksheet for Victorian Homeowners
Use a practical worksheet to compare solar quotes in Victoria, including exact equipment, design assumptions, site work, approvals and exclusions.
Solar
A solar quote comparison works only when each provider is answering the same brief. Before comparing totals, make sure the equipment, property work and intended result are genuinely comparable.
Use a simple worksheet with one column per proposal. Mark an unclear item as a question, not as an assumed inclusion. That is particularly useful when one offer combines solar, a battery and backup.
Our solar service can work from that shared brief rather than an isolated advertised package.
Start with one household brief
Give every provider the same recent electricity records, roof information and intended upgrades. Explain whether your priority is lower bills, future charging capacity, outage backup or a combination.
Separate requirements from preferences. A monitoring app showing household use may be a requirement; a particular panel colour may be a preference. Both can be recorded without confusing their purpose.
The ACCC recommends comparable quotations and careful consideration of the agreement before purchase.
Put exact equipment into the worksheet
Record panel model, quantity and total capacity, then inverter model and output rating. Include mounting, any extra monitoring meter and any equipment needed for the proposed controls.
For a battery offer, add usable capacity, its supported inverter arrangement and the nominated backup circuits. Do not allow the word backup to stand in for an actual design.
Our battery quote checklist provides the storage-specific questions. It also helps keep solar-only and combined prices understandable.
Imagine one quote includes household consumption monitoring and another includes generation monitoring only. The cheaper quote might still suit you, but the worksheet should show that difference before you choose.
Challenge the assumptions behind the result
Ask for the roof drawing and the assumptions used in the generation estimate. Record shading, roof direction and whether future appliances are included in the household demand model.
A large three-phase proposal needs the same discipline. Panel capacity, inverter output, battery power and approved exports are separate entries, even when the proposal presents them as one package.
The inverter overview explains the basic equipment roles. Ask the provider which role each component serves in your particular arrangement.
If one forecast assumes an EV charging at home every afternoon, check that against your actual parking schedule. A more optimistic forecast is not necessarily a better design.
Record who handles the work
Identify the business selling the system, the installer and the aftercare contact. Ask who manages network approval, any required inspection and meter coordination, with separate charges listed clearly.
The Government guide explains that the seller and installer can be different businesses. Subcontracting itself does not answer the question of who is responsible for your agreed scope.
Government guidance on retailers and installers.
Write down roof access assumptions, electrical allowances and any exclusions. If a site visit could change the price, ask how variations are proposed and accepted before extra work proceeds.
Make a decision from the completed sheet
A price difference is easier to judge once you know whether it buys different equipment, more complete work or simply a different commercial offer. Ask for revised written quotes where key details remain vague.
Do not keep adding features just because another column contains them. Choose the functions you expect to use and understand what omitting them would mean.
Send Lightning Energy your brief and the unresolved questions. The objective is an installation you understand, with clear responsibilities and a supported design, rather than a spreadsheet that always rewards the lowest total.
