How to Vet a Solar Installer in Ireland

What Actually Goes Wrong

In April 2026, a thread on r/ireland asked homeowners for their bad experiences with solar installers. It collected 67 replies. The stories follow a pattern worth knowing before you get quotes. The accounts below are anonymised but real:

• The vanishing installer. The most-upvoted reply in the thread: an installer botched the installation and then disappeared without submitting the SEAI or ESB Networks paperwork. The homeowner was left with a system they could not register for the Clean Export Guarantee and an incomplete grant application. Recovery from this takes months of chasing — and the grant requires the paperwork to come from a registered installer, so a homeowner cannot simply finish it themselves.
• The ghosting. One homeowner was encouraged by their installer to lock in the grant terms, then heard nothing back for weeks. By the time they gave up and reapplied with a different company, the grant terms had changed — the delay cost them €300.
• The paper survey. A roof assessment was signed off without anyone physically examining the roof. The install went ahead; the crew damaged slates; there was no roofing felt underneath; the ceiling leaked. Every part of that chain would have been caught by a real survey.
• The quality drift. A homeowner chose their installer from Facebook group recommendations. The system works — but the install picked up a long list of workmanship issues that only became apparent afterwards.

The thread's most concise comment: "lots of cowboys out there." That is the thread's verdict on the Irish solar market in 2026 — demand up 65% year-on-year, installer capacity lagging behind. A boom pulls in good operators and chancers alike.

The 9 Checks

1. Confirm they are on the SEAI register today — not "registered" in general

The SEAI Registered Companies list is searchable online and shows registration status in real time. Some companies let their registration lapse mid-year and keep trading on the strength of old marketing. If the installer is not on the list at the time the work is carried out, there is no grant — no Letter of Offer, no Declaration of Works, nothing. The full explanation of why this is a hard rule is in our guide to why only SEAI-registered installers can apply for the grant.

2. Check Safe Electric / RECI registration separately

SEAI registration and Safe Electric (RECI) registration are two different things on two different registers. SEAI registration gets you the grant; Safe Electric certification makes the electrical work legal. Your installer needs both, and you check them separately. The differences are explained in our Safe Electric vs SEAI registration guide.

3. Insist on a physical roof survey before the final quote

The leaking-ceiling story above started with a survey that never happened. A real site survey checks the roofing felt condition, slate or tile integrity, rafter access, and shading — from your attic and your roof, not from a satellite image. Some companies quote from Google Maps aerial view. If the quote arrives without anyone having stood in your attic, treat the quote as provisional and the company as suspect.

4. Get a named person and a timeline for the SEAI paperwork

Ask the question exactly this way: "Who handles the SEAI paperwork after installation, and what is your typical turnaround?" A good installer answers with a name and a number — usually 2–6 weeks. A vague "we sort all that out, don't worry" is a yellow flag. The vanishing-installer story is what "we sort all that out" looks like when it goes wrong.

5. Get the grant arrangement in writing

The SEAI grant of up to €1,800 is paid after installation, not at signing. Many installers show prices "after grant" and front the grant amount themselves, reclaiming it once SEAI pays out. That is normal and fine — but your contract must state clearly what you owe if the grant application is rejected for any reason. If the contract is silent on this, you are carrying the risk without knowing it.

6. Do not automatically take the cheapest quote

Several homeowners in the thread made the same point: the cheapest quote is often cheapest because something is missing — thinner mounting rails, no bird netting, a budget inverter with a short warranty, or a company with no after-sales operation. Compare what is actually included. Our cost guide lists what a complete installation quote should contain.

7. Get at least 3 quotes

Not for haggling leverage — for calibration. With three quotes you can spot the outlier in either direction: the one that is suspiciously cheap and the one that is padding the price. Quotes for the same system on the same roof can differ by €2,000 or more — our cost guide shows the typical price ranges per system size.

8. Never pay 100% upfront

A standard arrangement is a deposit on signing, a stage payment, and a final balance after commissioning and handover of documentation. An installer who wants the full amount before work starts is asking you to carry all the risk. Walk away from that, whatever the price.

9. Ask what happens after the install

Two specific questions: "What workmanship warranty do you provide on the installation itself?" (separate from the panel manufacturer's warranty) and "If the system stops exporting next January, who do I ring and how fast do you respond?" Companies with a real after-sales operation answer immediately. Companies without one change the subject.

If It Has Already Gone Wrong

If you are reading this after a bad install: document everything (photos, contracts, messages), then work through three channels. For electrical safety defects, Safe Electric investigates complaints against registered contractors. For grant paperwork left unfiled, contact SEAI directly — they can confirm what was and was not submitted, and whether the installer was registered at the time of your install. For the money, your contract and the Small Claims procedure (for claims of €2,000 or less) or a solicitor's letter are the routes. None of this is fast, which is exactly why the 9 checks above are worth the hour they take.

Frequently Asked Questions