What Questions Should You Ask a Solar Installer Before Signing? 15 Must-Ask Questions for Perth Homeowners
Getting solar quotes is the easy part. Knowing which questions to ask before you sign is where most Perth homeowners fall short.
The solar industry in Western Australia has seen significant consolidation over the past decade. More than 276 solar companies have collapsed across Australia, leaving thousands of homeowners with voided workmanship warranties and no recourse. Choosing an installer is not just about price per watt. It is about who will still be there in year five when a fault appears, and whether your warranty is worth the paper it is printed on.
This guide gives you 15 specific questions to put to any installer before you commit. For each one, we explain what a genuinely good answer looks like so you can judge the responses you receive.
What to look for at a glance:
- Accreditation that makes your system eligible for government rebates
- In-house electricians (not subcontractors) who are accountable to the company
- A workmanship warranty that is long, clearly defined, and geographically covers your property
- Insurance that protects your warranty even if the company closes
- Transparent financing, a clear grid connection timeline, and ongoing monitoring support
Credentials and Qualifications
Question 1: Are your installers accredited with Solar Accreditation Australia?
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) previously ran installer accreditation, but since February 2024, Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA) has been the official accreditation scheme operator under the federal Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).
What a good answer looks like: The installer confirms that their electricians hold current SAA accreditation. This matters because only SAA-accredited installers can create Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs), which are the federal incentive that reduces your upfront cost by thousands of dollars. Western Power also requires SAA-accredited installers for grid connection applications in WA. An installer who cannot confirm current accreditation is a red flag.
Question 2: Are you a CEC-approved retailer?
Separate from installer accreditation, the Clean Energy Council also accredits retailers under its Approved Solar Retailer programme. This is a voluntary code of conduct covering consumer protections, ethical sales practices, and complaint resolution.
What a good answer looks like: Yes, with a current approval number you can verify on the CEC website. Approved retailers must comply with the New Energy Tech Consumer Code (NETCC), which includes requirements around transparent pricing and post-sale support. Not every installer is an approved retailer, and the distinction matters.
Question 3: Do your electricians hold an unrestricted A-grade electrical licence in WA?
SAA accreditation requires that installers hold an unrestricted electrical contractor or electrician licence. In Western Australia, this means an A-grade licence issued by EnergySafety WA.
What a good answer looks like: Every electrician on site holds a current, unrestricted WA electrical licence. Restricted licences (such as appliance service licences) are not sufficient for solar PV installation. Ask to see licence numbers if you want to verify.
Who Actually Does the Work
Question 4: Do you use in-house electricians or subcontractors?
Many solar retailers are primarily sales organisations. They take your deposit, pass the job to a subcontracted installation crew, and have limited control over workmanship quality or scheduling. When something goes wrong, accountability becomes murky: the retailer points to the subcontractor, and the subcontractor is no longer on site.
What a good answer looks like: The company employs its own licensed electricians directly. In-house teams mean the installer is directly responsible for every installation, quality control is consistent, and the same people who installed your system are available for warranty call-backs. Talk Energy, for example, uses in-house electricians across all Perth metro and regional WA installations.
Question 5: Will the same team handle my installation from start to finish?
Related to the above, some companies use in-house staff for the electrical work but outsource roof mounting or panel placement to separate crews, creating coordination gaps.
What a good answer looks like: One consistent team manages the full installation. This reduces the risk of miscommunication between crews, ensures accountability, and means there is a single point of contact if you have questions on the day.
Warranties: What They Cover and What They Don’t
Warranty questions are where most buyers do not dig deep enough. There are two distinct types of warranty on any solar installation, and they protect against very different things.
| Warranty Type | What It Covers | Who Provides It |
|---|---|---|
| Workmanship warranty | Installation quality: wiring, mounting, roof penetrations, system commissioning | The installer |
| Product warranty | Panel and inverter defects, performance degradation | The manufacturer |
Most problems that emerge in the first few years are workmanship issues, not product defects. That makes the installer’s workmanship warranty the more immediately relevant document.
Question 6: How long is your workmanship warranty, and what exactly does it cover?
The CEC minimum for workmanship warranty is two years. Many installers offer five years. The best in the industry offer significantly more.
What a good answer looks like: A workmanship warranty of ten years or longer, covering all labour, wiring, roof penetrations, mounting hardware, and the system commissioning. Talk Energy provides a 20-year workmanship warranty, which is among the longest available in the Perth market. Ask for the warranty document in writing before you sign, not after installation.
Question 7: Does the workmanship warranty cover regional Western Australia?
Perth-based installers that service Mandurah, Bunbury, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, or other regional WA locations do not always extend their warranty coverage to those areas. This is especially common with companies that use subcontractors for regional work.
What a good answer looks like: The workmanship warranty applies across all service areas without geographic exclusions. If you are in regional WA, ask specifically whether the warranty covers call-outs to your location and whether there are any travel cost provisions for warranty work.
Question 8: What specific faults does the workmanship warranty not cover?
Every warranty has exclusions. Common exclusions include damage from extreme weather events, modifications made by third parties, and faults caused by failure to maintain the system. The question is whether the exclusions are reasonable or whether they are written so broadly that the warranty is effectively unenforceable.
What a good answer looks like: Exclusions limited to genuine third-party damage (storms, vandalism, unauthorised modifications). The warranty should not exclude normal wear and tear on installation components during the warranty period, and it should not require you to use the installer for all ongoing maintenance as a condition of keeping the warranty valid.
Company Stability and Warranty Protection
Question 9: What happens to my warranty if your company closes?
This is the question most buyers never think to ask, and the most consequential one. More than 276 solar companies have collapsed across Australia, voiding the workmanship warranties of an estimated 650,000 homeowners. When an installer goes into liquidation, their workmanship warranty disappears with them. Product warranties from panel and inverter manufacturers remain valid, but the installation warranty, which covers the most common fault scenarios in the early years, is gone.
The protection against this is an Insurance Backed Guarantee (IBG): a policy held with a third-party insurer that keeps your workmanship warranty valid even if the installer ceases trading.
What a good answer looks like: The installer offers an IBG as standard, or at minimum as an available option. Under the CEC Consumer Code, approved retailers must offer customers access to an IBG scheme. Ask for the name of the IBG provider and confirm the policy covers the full duration of the workmanship warranty period.
Key fact: Without an IBG, a 20-year workmanship warranty from a company that closes in year three is worth nothing. The IBG is what makes the warranty real.
Question 10: How long has your company been operating in WA?
Longevity is not a guarantee of quality, but it is a proxy for stability. A company with a ten-year track record in Perth has survived multiple market cycles, managed warranty claims over time, and has a verifiable history you can research.
What a good answer looks like: A clear history in the WA market with verifiable reviews, an ABN you can check on the Australian Business Register, and references from past customers. Be cautious of companies that are new trading names for recently restructured businesses.
Faults, Response Times, and After-Sales Support
Question 11: What is your guaranteed response time when I report a fault?
Solar systems generate revenue for you every day they operate. A fault that goes unresolved for weeks is not just an inconvenience; it is lost electricity generation and lost feed-in tariff income. Many installers have no formal response time commitment at all.
What a good answer looks like: A defined response time commitment in writing, typically within two to five business days for a site visit on fault calls. For remote diagnostics (where the fault can be assessed via your monitoring system), the turnaround should be faster. Anything vague, such as “we’ll get back to you as soon as possible,” is not a commitment.
Question 12: Do you provide a monitoring app, and what does it show?
A monitoring app lets you see your system’s daily generation, consumption, and battery status in real time. More importantly, it allows the installer to identify faults remotely before they escalate.
What a good answer looks like: A monitoring platform that shows live generation data, historical performance, and alerts for underperformance or faults. The best installers also have access to the monitoring portal on their end, so they can proactively contact you if your system drops below expected output rather than waiting for you to notice and call.
Question 13: What ongoing support do you provide after installation?
The sale should not be the end of the relationship. Perth’s climate, with its intense UV exposure and occasional storms, means systems need periodic checks. Some installers disappear after the handover.
What a good answer looks like: A clear aftercare structure: a dedicated support line, access to the monitoring portal, and a process for logging service requests. Ask whether they have a local Perth-based team handling post-installation support or whether calls are routed to an interstate call centre.
Grid Connection, Financing, and Pricing
Question 14: Who handles the grid connection application, and how long does it take?
In Western Australia, connecting a solar system to the grid requires an application to Western Power (for most metro and regional areas). This process involves technical approval, metering changes, and sometimes network capacity assessments. It is not instant, and delays are common when the application is not managed correctly.
What a good answer looks like: The installer manages the entire grid connection process on your behalf, including the Western Power application, metering upgrades, and any required network assessments. A realistic timeline in Perth metro is typically four to eight weeks from installation to full grid connection and export approval. Be wary of quotes that promise unrealistically fast timelines; delays are usually on the network operator’s side, not the installer’s, but a competent installer will have submitted a complete application the first time.
Question 15: Do you offer financing, and what are the actual terms?
Many installers now offer finance options, including interest-free periods, low-rate loans, and buy-now-pay-later products. The headline rate is rarely the full picture.
What a good answer looks like: Full transparency on the comparison rate, total interest payable, any deferred interest clauses (where interest accrues during an “interest-free” period and becomes payable if the balance is not cleared), and whether the finance is provided directly or through a third-party lender. Talk Energy offers fast financing options, but the right question to ask any installer is: “What is the total cost of the system if I use your finance versus paying cash?”
Bonus: Do you offer a price match?
Perth’s solar market is competitive, and prices vary. If you have received a lower quote for an equivalent system, ask whether the installer will match it.
What a good answer looks like: A clear price match policy with defined conditions: the competing quote must be for equivalent products (same panel brand and wattage, same inverter brand and model), from a CEC-accredited retailer, and in writing. Talk Energy offers price matching on comparable quotes, which means you do not have to choose between the cheapest price and the highest quality of service.
The Bottom Line
A solar system is a 25-year asset. The installer you choose will determine whether that asset performs as promised, whether your warranty holds up when you need it, and whether you have someone to call when something goes wrong.
The questions above are not designed to trip up a good installer. A reputable company will answer all of them clearly and without hesitation. The ones that hedge, deflect, or cannot provide documentation should prompt you to keep looking.
A quick reference checklist before you sign:
- SAA-accredited installers confirmed
- CEC-approved retailer status verified
- In-house electricians (not subcontractors) confirmed
- Workmanship warranty length and scope in writing
- Warranty coverage confirmed for your location (including regional WA if applicable)
- Insurance Backed Guarantee (IBG) offered or available
- Fault response time commitment in writing
- Monitoring app access confirmed
- Grid connection process and realistic timeline explained
- Finance terms fully disclosed (comparison rate, total cost)
- Price match policy understood
If you are comparing quotes in Perth and want to put these questions to a local installer with in-house electricians, a 20-year workmanship warranty, and coverage across metro and regional WA, Talk Energy Solar & Battery is worth including in your shortlist.
