Solar Panel Quotes in Ireland

A solar quote in Ireland should give you the system size in kWp, the full price with a 0% VAT line, named equipment rather than adjectives, and the SEAI grant shown separately as money that comes back to you months later. Most of the quotes homeowners send us fail on at least one of those. The gap is rarely dishonesty. It is that a quote written to win a signature and a quote written to be compared are two different documents, and only one of them is any use to you.

What an Irish Solar Quote Has to Tell You

Start with the part that is not optional. Most residential solar is sold either at your kitchen table after a home visit or remotely by phone and email. Both are contracts made away from a business premises, and Irish consumer law attaches specific information duties to them.

The CCPC lists what the business must give you before you buy: its name, physical address, phone number and email address; details of the product or service and how it will be supplied; the total price and any extra charges, or how the total will be calculated if it cannot be stated; the length of the contract and any conditions attaching to deposits; and your right to cancel and how to use it. Those duties fall away only for doorstep purchases under €50, which no solar install has ever been.

Read that list again with a solar quote beside you. A one-page PDF with a company name, a system size and a number at the bottom does not meet it. That is not a technicality you have to enforce in court to benefit from. It is a fast way to sort three quotes into the one written by a business that runs a proper process and the two that were not.

Check 1: The Full Price, Not the Price After Grant

This is the single most common way two quotes stop being comparable. One installer quotes €9,400. Another quotes €7,600. They are pricing near-identical systems, and the second has quietly deducted the SEAI grant.

The grant is not a discount and your installer does not apply it. Citizens Information is explicit about the sequence: you apply and get a grant offer from SEAI before any work starts, you then have eight months to complete the work, and the work must be finished before you can get the payment. You also have to have either paid your contractor or agreed a payment plan with them. Once SEAI is satisfied, it pays by electronic funds transfer into your bank account.

So the money you need to find on install day is the full price. The grant arrives afterwards, into your account, on SEAI's timetable rather than the installer's. A quote that leads with the after-grant figure is describing your position several months from now, not the cheque you are being asked to write. Ask every installer for the gross figure and compare those. Our grant application guide walks through the paperwork order, and the payment timeline page covers what happens after the system is live.

Check 2: The VAT Line, and Where the Battery Sits

Since May 2023 the 0% rate of VAT applies to the supply and installation of solar panels on private residences and schools. A domestic solar quote in Ireland should therefore carry a VAT line reading 0%. If yours shows 13.5% or 23% on a straightforward supply-and-fit job for your own home, that is a question to put to the installer before anything else on this page.

The detail that costs people money is narrower than the headline. Revenue's own position is that the supply of solar panels is at the standard rate, and that the zero rate applies where the panels are supplied and installed under a supply-and-install contract. Ancillary equipment fitted as part of that same contract, the wiring, the controller, the combiner box, the battery, follows the panels to the zero rate.

Which means the structure of the paperwork changes the tax. A battery inside the solar supply-and-install contract sits at 0%. The same battery bought as a separate goods-only supply does not. On a battery costing a few thousand euro, that is a difference worth several hundred, decided entirely by how the quote was drawn up. If your quote splits the battery onto its own invoice, ask why. See our battery storage guide for whether you want one at all, and the grant and 0% VAT stacking page for how the two supports sit together.

The same rule is why buying panels yourself is less of a bargain than it looks. Panels bought over the counter with no installation attached are a supply of goods at the standard rate, and a self-install is not eligible for the grant either.

Check 3: Sized in kWp, Not in Panels

"Twelve panels" is not a system size. Panel wattage varies enough that two twelve-panel quotes can differ by a kilowatt or more of installed capacity, and capacity is what everything else keys off.

The grant is calculated on the peak output of the array in kWp, so kWp is what decides whether you collect €1,600 or €1,800. Your generation estimate depends on it. So does whether the system is a sensible fit for your consumption. A quote that states 4.1 kWp across twelve 340 W panels can be checked. A quote that says twelve panels cannot.

Do the multiplication yourself: panel count times panel wattage, divided by 1,000. If the answer does not match the kWp figure on the quote, one of the two numbers is wrong. Our sizing guide covers what capacity your consumption actually justifies, and the panel dimensions page covers whether that many panels will physically fit the roof.

Check 4: Equipment Named by Model

"Premium tier-1 panels" and "hybrid inverter" are not specifications. They are placeholders that let the installer substitute at order time, and they make the price meaningless because you cannot tell what you are comparing.

A quote worth comparing names the panel manufacturer and model, the inverter manufacturer and model, the battery model and its usable capacity in kWh if there is one, and the warranty term on each. Those names let you pull the datasheets and check the warranty claims for yourself. They also let you spot the gap where one quote includes optimisers or a hot water diverter and another does not, which is usually the real reason two prices differ.

Check 5: The Two Registrations That Are Not the Same Thing

To qualify for the grant you must use a registered company from SEAI's list, and the electrical works must be done by a Safe Electric Ireland electrician. Those are two separate requirements and homeowners routinely assume one implies the other.

A capable electrician who is not on SEAI's solar PV register cannot get you the grant. A company on the SEAI register still has to have the electrical work signed off by a Safe Electric electrician. Check the register entry yourself rather than taking the logo on the quote at face value. We cover the distinction in detail on the Safe Electric and SEAI registration page and the registered installer requirement page.

While you are there, settle the paperwork question. Your registered installer should apply to ESB Networks on your behalf for the connection, and a registered installer has to sign the Declaration of Works that releases your grant payment. A post-works BER also has to be done. Ask which of those the installer is handling and which they expect you to chase, and get the answer in the quote rather than in a phone call. Our NC6 form guide explains the grid side.

Check 6: There Has to Be a Contract, and SEAI Wrote You One

This is the check almost nobody makes, and it is handed to you by the scheme itself. Citizens Information states plainly that you must have a contract in place with the contractor to ensure a suitable level of consumer protection, and that SEAI publishes a sample contract on its website to help with this.

A model contract issued by the grant authority is an unusually useful thing to have in a negotiation. You do not need to draft terms or argue about fairness in the abstract. You can ask whether the installer's contract covers the same ground as SEAI's, and treat a refusal to put anything in writing beyond the quote as the answer to a different question entirely.

SEAI's own advice before you choose from the register is short and worth following: get a number of quotes, compare the offers, and request and check the company's references. Two quotes is not a comparison. Three is the point at which an outlier becomes visible.

Check 7: The Deposit, and How Long You Actually Have to Cancel

Almost every article about cancelling a contract quotes 14 days. In Ireland that is sometimes the wrong number, and the thing that decides it is not where you signed. It is who started the conversation.

Section 113 of the Consumer Rights Act 2022 sets the cancellation period for a distance or off-premises contract. For a service contract the default is 14 days beginning on the day the contract is concluded, and for a sales contract 14 days beginning on the day you take physical possession of the goods. But subsections (3) and (8) carve out a longer period for contracts concluded in the context of an unsolicited visit by a trader to your home, or an excursion the trader organised to sell to you. In that case the period is 30 days.

So the solar version reads like this. A salesperson who knocked on your door without being asked, and left with your signature, gave you 30 days. A surveyor you booked yourself after requesting quotes gave you 14. The CCPC and Citizens Information both summarise this as "doorstep sales get 30 days" without spelling out the unsolicited condition, so if you are relying on it, work from the Act rather than the summary, and get advice if your situation sits near the line.

There is a second half to the rule that can matter more than either number. The business must tell you about your right to cancel and the timescales that apply, and must provide a cancellation form and explain how to use it. If it does not, the CCPC states your right to cancel extends to 12 months from the date it was first due to expire. A contract that says nothing about cancellation has not removed your cancellation right. It has lengthened it.

On deposits themselves there is no statutory cap, which is exactly why the conditions attaching to a deposit are on the CCPC's list of things you must be told before you buy. Ask what the deposit is, what it secures, what happens to it if the survey finds the roof cannot take the array, and get the answer in the contract. Our installer vetting guide covers what goes wrong when that conversation does not happen.

Putting Three Quotes Side by Side

Once the quotes are in, normalise them before you judge them. Write the gross price for each, not the after-grant price. Write the kWp. Divide one by the other for a cost per kWp, which is the only number that compares systems of different sizes honestly. Then list what is in one quote and missing from another: battery, optimisers, diverter, scaffolding, bird protection, making good.

Most of the time the cheapest quote is cheapest because something is not in it. Sometimes that something is a thing you did not want. The point of normalising is that you find out which. For what the resulting numbers should look like, our solar panel cost guide has the current Irish ranges by system size.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should be included in a solar panel quote in Ireland?

The system size in kWp, the panel and inverter manufacturer and model with warranty terms, the battery model and usable capacity if one is included, the full price with a 0% VAT line, the SEAI grant shown separately rather than deducted, and who is handling the ESB Networks connection application and the Declaration of Works. Because most solar is sold away from a business premises, the trader must also give you its name, address, phone and email, the total price and extra charges, the length of the contract, any conditions attaching to deposits, and your right to cancel.

Should a solar quote show the price before or after the SEAI grant?

Compare gross prices. The grant is not a discount applied by the installer. You must get a grant offer from SEAI before work starts, complete the work within 8 months, and pay your contractor or agree a payment plan with them. Only then does SEAI pay by electronic funds transfer into your bank account. The money you need on install day is the full price, so an after-grant headline figure is not the sum you are being asked to fund.

Is there VAT on solar panels in Ireland?

Since May 2023 the 0% rate of VAT applies to the supply and installation of solar panels on private residences and schools. The zero rate depends on it being a supply-and-install contract. Revenue treats the supply of panels on their own as standard-rated, so panels bought without installation do not get the 0% rate. A domestic supply-and-fit quote showing 13.5% or 23% VAT is worth querying before you go any further.

Does the 0% VAT rate cover a home battery?

It covers ancillary equipment such as the wiring, the controller, the combiner box and the battery when they are supplied and installed as part of the same supply-and-install contract as the panels. Bought separately as a goods-only supply, that equipment does not qualify. If a quote splits the battery onto its own invoice, ask why, because the split can change the VAT treatment on a few thousand euro of kit.

How long do I have to cancel a solar contract in Ireland?

Usually 14 days, and 30 days in one specific case. Section 113 of the Consumer Rights Act 2022 sets a 14-day cancellation period for a distance or off-premises service contract, running from the day the contract is concluded. It extends that to 30 days where the contract was concluded in the context of an unsolicited visit by a trader to your home, or a trader-organised excursion. So a cold-call solar salesperson at your door means 30 days, while a survey visit you booked yourself means 14. You do not need to give a reason, but you must tell the business in writing within the period and be able to show you did.

What if the installer never told me I could cancel?

Then your right to cancel is extended to 12 months from the date it was first due to expire. The business is required to tell you about the right and the timescales, provide a cancellation form and explain how to use it. Failing to do so does not remove your right. It lengthens it.

How many solar quotes should I get in Ireland?

SEAI's own guidance is to get a number of quotes, compare the offers, and request and check the company's references. Three is the practical minimum, because two quotes only tell you which is cheaper while three start to show you which is the outlier and why.

Do I need a written contract as well as a quote?

Yes. Citizens Information states you must have a contract in place with the contractor to ensure a suitable level of consumer protection, and SEAI publishes a sample contract on its website for this purpose. Comparing an installer's contract against SEAI's model is a reasonable thing to ask to do, and an unwillingness to put anything in writing beyond the quote tells you something worth knowing.

The Short Version

A solar quote in Ireland is doing two jobs at once. It is a sales document and it is the thing that becomes your contract. The checks on this page all pull in the same direction: make the document describe the actual transaction, in numbers that can be compared and terms that can be read.

Get the gross price. Get the kWp. Get the model numbers. Check both registrations. Ask for the contract. And if you signed something last week that you have gone cold on, count the days before you assume it is too late, because the count may be longer than you think.