Solar Panel Quote

Getting a solar panel quote should be straightforward. You describe your house, the company designs a system, and you get a number. In practice, though, Kenyan solar quotes vary wildly — not just in price, but in what they include, what they leave out, and how honestly they represent what you’re actually buying.

Some companies quote the panel cost alone and add everything else as “extras” later. Others bundle everything into one lump sum that makes comparison impossible. A few give you a proper itemised breakdown that lets you verify every component. This guide teaches you how to tell the difference, and how to make sure the quote you accept is the one that delivers the best value — not just the lowest headline number.

Before You Request a Quote: What to Prepare

A solar quote is only as good as the information you give the company. Provide vague inputs, get a vague quote. Provide precise inputs, get a precise quote. Here’s what to have ready before you contact anyone.

Your Electricity Bill (at Least Three Months)

Your utility bill shows your monthly consumption in kilowatt-hours (kWh). This is the single most important input for system sizing. Three months of bills captures seasonal variation — most Kenyan households use more electricity in hot months (fans, fridges working harder) and less in cooler months.

If you can’t find your bills, check your utility provider’s app or online portal. Your average monthly consumption in kWh is the number you need. If all else fails, a competent solar company can estimate from your appliance list — but a real bill is always better than an estimate.

Your Appliance List

Write down every significant appliance in your house and its wattage (usually printed on a label on the back or bottom of the appliance). Pay particular attention to heavy-draw items: refrigerators, washing machines, electric kettles, microwaves, iron boxes, water heaters, air conditioners, and borehole pumps. These are the appliances that determine your inverter size and peak demand.

Your Roof Details

Take a photo of your roof from the street. Note the roof material (tin/corrugated mabati, clay tiles, concrete flat roof), the approximate direction it faces, and whether any trees, water tanks, or neighbouring buildings shade parts of it during the day. This information determines your mounting structure type and whether a site visit is needed before the company can quote accurately.

Your Goals

Be clear about what you want. Are you trying to eliminate your utility bill entirely? Reduce it by 50%? Get backup power during outages? Power a specific set of appliances off-grid? Each goal leads to a different system design and a different quote. A company that doesn’t ask you this question before quoting is guessing, not designing.

What a Proper Solar Panel Quote Should Contain

A professional solar quotation is an itemised document, not a single number on a WhatsApp message. Here’s what should be in every legitimate quote you receive.

1. Itemised Equipment List with Brand, Model, and Quantity

Every component should be listed individually with its exact brand, model number, wattage or capacity rating, and unit quantity. A quote that says “solar panels × 6” without specifying the brand and model is a red flag — you can’t verify quality or compare across suppliers.

A proper equipment list includes:

• Solar panels: Brand, model, wattage per panel, number of panels (e.g., “Jinko Tiger Neo 545W monocrystalline × 4”)
• Hybrid inverter: Brand, model, power rating, single-phase or three-phase (e.g., “Solis S6-EH1P8K-L-PLUS 8kW single-phase hybrid”)
• Battery bank: Brand, model, capacity per unit, number of units, chemistry type (e.g., “Vestwood 10kWh 48V LFP lithium × 1”)
• Mounting structure: Type (tin roof L-foot, tile hook, ground mount), material (aluminium rail length), and quantity
• Protection devices: DC isolator, DC circuit breakers, AC circuit breakers, surge protection devices — each with amperage and voltage rating
• Cabling: Solar DC cable (length and gauge), AC cable, earthing cable
• Accessories: MC4 connectors, cable clips, cable trunking, earthing rod

If any of these items are missing from a quote, the system is incomplete and you’ll pay extra later — or worse, the installer will skip the missing components entirely.

2. Installation Cost (Separate Line Item)

Installation labour should be a visible, separate line — not buried inside inflated equipment prices. This lets you compare the equipment cost across suppliers independently of their installation pricing. Installation costs vary by roof complexity, system size, and location (installers charge travel costs for upcountry jobs).

3. System Design Summary

A professional quote includes a brief technical summary explaining why the proposed components were chosen: estimated daily energy generation, expected utility bill offset percentage, battery autonomy hours, and inverter headroom above your peak demand. This summary is where a good company demonstrates that it actually designed a system for your specific situation rather than copy-pasting a template.

4. Warranty Details for Each Component

Warranties should be itemised per component, not summarised as “25-year warranty” (which typically applies only to panels, not the inverter or batteries). You should see:

• Panels: Product warranty (manufacturing defects, typically 10–12 years) AND performance warranty (output guarantee, typically 25–30 years)
• Inverter: Manufacturer warranty (typically 5–10 years, extendable on some brands)
• Batteries: Cycle warranty (e.g., “6,000 cycles at 80% DoD”) or year warranty (typically 10 years for quality LFP)
• Installation workmanship: Installer’s own warranty on labour and wiring (typically 1–2 years)

5. Payment Terms and Timeline

The quote should state the total price, deposit required, payment schedule, expected delivery timeline, and installation date. Be cautious of quotes that demand full payment before any equipment arrives. A reasonable structure is: deposit on order confirmation, second payment on equipment delivery, and final payment on commissioning.

6. What’s NOT Included

A transparent company lists exclusions explicitly. Common items that may not be included in a standard quote: structural roof reinforcement (if needed), utility meter upgrades (for net metering), trenching for underground cable runs, additional distribution board work, and county or EPRA permit fees. If exclusions aren’t listed, ask — because surprises always cost money.

Red Flags in Solar Quotes

After reviewing hundreds of solar quotes from Kenyan companies over the years, these are the patterns that consistently indicate problems.

No Brand Names Specified

A quote that lists “550W solar panel × 6” without a brand name is hiding something. It usually means the installer will source whatever is cheapest at the time of installation, which may be a no-name panel with no verifiable warranty. Insist on specific brand and model numbers for every component — especially panels, inverter, and batteries.

Single Lump-Sum Price with No Breakdown

If the quote says “complete 5kVA solar system — KSh XXX,XXX” and nothing else, you have no way to evaluate whether the price is fair, whether the components are quality, or whether anything is missing. Walk away from any quote that refuses to itemise.

No DC or AC Protection Devices Listed

If the quote doesn’t mention DC circuit breakers, AC circuit breakers, or surge protection, the installer is either cutting corners on safety or planning to charge you extra for these “optional” items. They’re not optional — they’re mandatory for any safe solar installation.

Unrealistically Low Price

If one quote is 30–40% cheaper than all others for the same system size, something is wrong. Common tricks: undersized battery (quoting 5kWh when you need 10kWh), no mounting structure included, used or grey-market panels, or no installation labour in the price. Compare the itemised component list, not the bottom line.

No Site Visit Offered

Any company that quotes a complete system without ever seeing your roof, your electrical panel, or your shading conditions is guessing. A professional quote starts with a site visit (or at minimum, detailed photos and measurements from you). Remote quoting for ballpark estimates is reasonable; remote quoting for a final binding price is risky.

“Lifetime Warranty” Claims

No solar component has a lifetime warranty. Panels are warranted for 25–30 years. Inverters for 5–10 years. Batteries for 10 years or a specific cycle count. Any claim beyond these ranges is marketing language, not a genuine warranty commitment. Ask for the manufacturer’s written warranty document, not the installer’s verbal promise.

How to Compare Two Solar Quotes Side by Side

When you have two or more quotes in hand, here’s the framework for a fair comparison.

Step 1: Normalise the System Size

Make sure you’re comparing like for like. If one company quotes a 5kVA system and another quotes an 8kVA system, the prices aren’t comparable. Normalise to the same inverter capacity, panel wattage total, and battery capacity before comparing prices.

Step 2: Check Component Quality Tier

Not all 545W panels are equal. A Tier-1 panel (Jinko, Canadian Solar, Trina, LONGi, JA Solar) with documented 25-year warranty is fundamentally different from an unbranded 545W panel with a handwritten “guarantee.” Compare brand-to-brand, not just watt-to-watt.

Step 3: Verify the Battery Chemistry and Capacity

A 10kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery rated for 6,000 cycles is a completely different product from a 10kWh lead-acid battery rated for 500 cycles. The lead-acid battery will need replacement in 2–3 years; the LFP battery lasts 10–15 years. If one quote is dramatically cheaper, check whether it’s using lead-acid instead of lithium — the upfront saving evaporates when you replace the batteries three times.

Step 4: Add Up the Missing Items

Take the cheaper quote and check every line of the more expensive quote against it. Is mounting structure included in both? Are DC breakers listed in both? Is installation labour in both? Add the cost of any missing items to the cheaper quote’s total. The “cheaper” quote frequently becomes the more expensive one once you fill in the gaps.

Step 5: Calculate Cost Per Usable kWh

The most honest comparison metric is cost per usable kWh of daily generation:

Cost per kWh = Total System Cost ÷ (Estimated Daily Generation in kWh × 365 days × 25 years)

This gives you the true levelised cost of electricity from each proposed system over its lifetime. The system with the lowest cost per kWh is the best value — regardless of which one has the lower headline price.

What Happens After You Accept a Quote

Once you’ve chosen a supplier, the process typically follows this sequence:

1. Deposit and order confirmation: You pay the agreed deposit. The company confirms component availability and orders any items not in stock.
2. Site visit (if not already done): The installation team visits your property to finalise panel layout, cable routing, inverter mounting location, and any structural considerations.
3. Equipment delivery: All components arrive at your property. Inspect every item against the quote’s equipment list before signing the delivery receipt. Verify brand names, model numbers, and quantities match exactly.
4. Installation: Typically 1–2 days for residential systems. The team mounts panels, runs cabling, installs the inverter and batteries, wires protection devices, and connects to your distribution board.
5. Commissioning and handover: The system is powered on, tested, and configured. You receive warranty documents for every component, a commissioning report showing system performance, and a walkthrough of the monitoring app.

At every stage, the quote you accepted is your reference document. If the installer tries to substitute a different panel brand, a smaller battery, or fewer breakers than quoted, the quote gives you contractual grounds to object.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I request a solar panel quote in Kenya?

Prepare your recent electricity bills (showing monthly kWh consumption), a list of your major appliances with wattages, and a photo of your roof. Contact a reputable solar supplier with this information, and they’ll design a system and provide an itemised quotation. The more detail you provide upfront, the more accurate the quote will be.

How many quotes should I get before deciding?

Get at least two or three quotes from different companies. This gives you a range of pricing and lets you compare component quality, warranty terms, and included services. More than four quotes adds diminishing returns — at that point, the differences between reputable companies become marginal.

Should I always choose the cheapest solar quote?

Not necessarily. The cheapest quote often excludes items that more expensive quotes include: mounting structures, protection devices, installation labour, or quality batteries. Compare quotes on an itemised, component-by-component basis. The best value quote is the one with the lowest cost per usable kWh over the system’s 25-year life, not the one with the lowest headline price.

What should I do if a quote doesn’t list specific brands?

Ask the company to specify exact brand and model names for every component — especially panels, inverter, and batteries. If they refuse or say “we’ll decide at installation,” consider it a red flag. Without specified brands, you can’t verify quality, compare across suppliers, or enforce warranty claims.

Is a site visit necessary before getting a solar quote?

For an accurate final quote, yes. A remote estimate based on your appliance list and bills is useful for a ballpark figure, but the binding quote should come after someone has inspected your roof structure, shading, electrical panel, and cable routing. Companies that skip the site visit risk designing a system that doesn’t fit your property.

How long is a solar quote valid?

Most solar quotes in Kenya are valid for 14–30 days. Equipment prices fluctuate with exchange rates and supplier stock levels, so a quote from three months ago may no longer be accurate. If you’ve been sitting on a quote for more than a month, ask the company to reconfirm pricing before proceeding.

Can I negotiate a solar panel quote?

Yes. Common negotiation points include: installation labour cost, bundled maintenance packages, extended inverter warranty, and bulk discounts if you’re installing for multiple properties or coordinating with neighbours. Negotiating on equipment price is harder because component costs are set by manufacturers, but total system price has flexibility in the labour and margin components.

Where can I get a transparent, itemised solar panel quote in Kenya?

Bicity Solar Energy Suppliers provides fully itemised quotes listing every component by brand, model, and quantity, with separate lines for equipment, installation, and warranty terms. We serve all Kenyan counties with Jinko and Canadian Solar panels, Solis, Jinko, and Vestwood hybrid inverters, and Vestwood, Jinko, and Renergy LFP batteries.