Search for solar installers in your town tonight and count how many describe themselves as the “leading provider”. By the third page you will have found a dozen leaders, which is a dozen more than any market can hold.
None of them are lying, exactly. Every company believes its own brochure. But when everyone says the same thing, the words stop carrying information, and the homeowner is left exactly where they started: with a major decision, a big number, and no way to tell companies apart.
We would know. Prepaid24 has spent seventeen years on the other side of South Africa’s electricity meters, helping households buy their prepaid electricity. We are not a solar hardware manufacturer and we do not earn more when you buy a bigger system. This vantage point lets us say things a salesman cannot.
So what will we tell a family member who asked? Not who is the best, but how to check.
Ask who carries the risk. If the system fails in year three, whose problem is it: yours, or theirs, in writing.
Ask about the installer, not just the panels. A decade or more in the electrical trade. A permanent, qualified team. The ability to issue a Certificate of Compliance on every installation. A base of live installations you can ask about. The financial stability to still exist when your warranty is needed.
Ask what happens to the warranties. High grade components matter less than warranties kept intact by a certified installation.
Ask why the system is the size it is. If nobody measured your actual consumption, the size was chosen for their invoice, not your roof.
Ask what leaving costs are. Any honest provider will tell you before you sign, in plain figures, not the fine print.
Warren Buffett borrowed a line from his teacher Benjamin Graham that fits solar better than almost anything else: “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” The cheapest quote and the best decision are rarely the same document.
We have published our own answers to every one of these questions, including an honest comparison of buying, financing and renting, and where each one genuinely wins. Read it, take it to any provider you like, and use it. That is what it is for.
Next step: Read the honest comparison here, or complete the 3-minute Electricity Optimiser to see what system is best for your home.
