The full vetting checklist: license, reviews, NEM 3.0 math, warranties.
Free, no-pressure review
Already have a solar quote? Get a free second opinion.
Bring us any competitor's quote or proposal and a real local advisor will review it honestly — price, equipment, production math, and the financing fine print. No pressure, no obligation.
What we check
Six things we read before you sign
A solar contract is one of the larger purchases a homeowner makes — and the most important details are the ones easiest to gloss over. Here's exactly what we look at.
Price per watt ($/W)
The single cleanest way to compare two quotes for different system sizes. We translate your proposal to a $/watt figure and tell you where it lands versus a fair, installed-and-permitted price in your area.
Equipment tier
Which panel, inverter, and battery brands are actually specified? Tier-one hardware and a Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh usable, 11.5 kW output, ~10-year warranty) are not the same as unnamed, white-label parts quietly swapped in later.
Production-estimate honesty
Does the proposal's projected production and savings account for NEM 3.0, your roof's real orientation and shading, and your actual usage — or is it an optimistic model designed to make the payback look shorter than it is?
Financing fine print
We read the part most people skip: payment escalators that raise your bill every year, dealer fees baked into a low APR, and the difference between a true cash price and a financed price. $0-down lease/PPA structures can pass the commercial §48E credit through to you — we confirm whether yours actually does.
Warranty & who stands behind it
A 25-year warranty only matters if the company is still around — and reachable — to honor it. We check who carries the workmanship, equipment, and production guarantees, and whether service is handled locally or routed to a call center three states away.
Who actually does the work
Many quotes come from sales-only dealers who subcontract the install to whoever is cheapest that week. We confirm the licensed installer of record so you know exactly who is on your roof and who you call if something needs service.
Red flags we often find
The patterns that cost homeowners the most
We see a lot of proposals. These are the four issues that show up again and again — and the ones a second set of eyes catches before they're locked into a 25-year agreement.
Inflated savings projections
Headline savings that assume utility rates climb forever, ignore NEM 3.0 export credits, or quietly bake in incentives you may not qualify for. We re-run the math against approximate SCE (~$0.36/kWh), SDG&E (~$0.47/kWh), or PG&E (~$0.42/kWh) averages and your real bill.
Vague or swappable equipment
"Premium panels" with no brand, an inverter listed only by category, or a battery referenced without a model number. If the contract doesn't name the hardware, the installer can substitute lower-tier parts and you'd have no recourse.
Hidden dealer fees
A financed price thousands above the cash price, with the gap buried as a 'dealer fee' to buy down a flashy low APR. The advertised rate looks great; the total you pay does not. We separate the two so you can see the real cost.
No battery under NEM 3.0
A solar-only design sold with old-rules savings claims. Without storage, much of your daytime export earns very little back. If the quote doesn't even discuss a battery, that's a signal the savings story may not hold up.
How to send your quote
Two easy ways to get your review
It takes a few minutes to send, and you'll hear back from a real local advisor — not an auto-generated counteroffer.
Upload it with your estimate request
Attach your proposal or contract and your most recent utility bill on our estimate form. The bill lets us check the production and savings math against your real usage.
Or just call us
Prefer to talk it through? Call 949-427-8817 and we'll walk through your quote together over the phone.
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Licensed, Bonded & Insured · CSLB #1023627. Figures are honest estimates, not guarantees.
Questions
Second-opinion FAQs
Yes. Send us any solar or battery proposal you've received and a local OC Solar advisor will review it line by line at no cost. There's no pressure to switch and no obligation to buy from us — if your existing quote is genuinely strong, we'll tell you so. The goal is to make sure you can sign with confidence, whether that's with us or someone else.
Before you compare
Know what a fair quote looks like
Two guides that arm you for any sales meeting — including ours.
2026 cost benchmarks to hold any proposal against.
Send us your quote — we'll give it to you straight.
Upload your proposal and bill on our estimate form, or call a local advisor. No pressure, no obligation — just an honest read before you sign.
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Licensed, Bonded & Insured · CSLB #1023627