An owner-occupier's checklist before signing any solar contract in Bengaluru

Rooftop solar is a twenty-five year decision made off a two-page quotation. Most of what will matter to you in year four — who answers the phone, who owns the warranty, what the number on page one actually included — is decided in the half hour before you sign, and almost none of it is decided by the price.

This is a checklist, not a pitch. Take it to whichever provider you are talking to. The questions below are the ones that separate a quotation you can rely on from one that grows after the site visit. If a provider answers all of them plainly and in writing, that is a good sign — regardless of whose logo is on the paperwork.

Is the quoted price all-in, or does it grow after the site visit?

Start here, because everything else hangs off it. Ask directly: is this number the total I will pay, including GST?

Rooftop solar in India carries a slightly awkward tax structure — roughly 8.9% effective on the solar system itself and 18% on the regulatory work — so a price quoted "plus taxes" is not a price. It is an opening position. Ask for the number with GST in it.

Then ask what the site visit is allowed to change. A structural finding on your roof, or a genuine change in system size, is a fair reason for a revised number. "We found the cable run is longer than expected" is a reason your provider should have anticipated. Ask which category of surprise is on you and which is on them, and get the answer before the survey, not after.

It helps to know what a good answer looks like. For a 3 kW DCR system on a Bengaluru independent house, base case with no sanctioned-load increase needed, the all-in cost is ₹2,62,725 including GST, and the net outlay after the ₹78,000 PM Surya Ghar subsidy is ₹1,84,725 — that is what an all-in number should look like, broken out line by line in our worked example.

This is an illustration, not a quote. Your own figure depends on your roof, your bill and your sanctioned load. But note the shape of it: every line named, tax visible, subsidy shown where it actually lands. Ask for your quotation in that shape from anyone. If you want yours for your own roof in about a minute: helira.in/start.

Is the subsidy netted off my invoice, or credited to my bank afterwards?

This one catches people. The PM Surya Ghar subsidy — ₹78,000 for a 3 kW system — is paid directly into your bank account after your system is commissioned and your net meter is installed. It is not a discount your provider books against the invoice.

So the sequence is: you pay the full amount first, and the subsidy arrives later. Ask your provider to say, in writing, which of the two it is in their proposal. A quotation that shows only the post-subsidy number without saying when the money moves is not lying to you — but it is letting you assume something convenient, and you will discover the assumption at payment time.

While you are there, ask about DCR panels. The subsidy is only available on Domestic Content Requirement modules — cells and panels made in India — and those cost more than the imported equivalent. That premium eats into the headline. For a typical 3 kW Bengaluru system the true incremental benefit of the subsidised route is closer to ₹59,000 than to ₹78,000. Still very much worth claiming. But ₹59,000, approximately, is the honest number to plan around, and a provider who volunteers that unprompted is telling you something about how they will behave later.

Who actually holds the warranty — and what happens in year four?

Panels typically carry a 25-year performance warranty from the manufacturer. That is not the question. The question is: when something stops working in year four, whose phone number do I call, and are they contractually obliged to answer?

Ask your provider to name, precisely:

• The party you are contracting with. Who is on the invoice? Is it the same entity making the warranty promise, or a different one?
• What happens if the installing firm closes. Many rooftop systems are installed by small firms with thin balance sheets. If yours winds up in year four, does your accountability transfer to someone still trading — or does it evaporate, leaving you with a manufacturer's paperwork and no one to fit the part?
• What is excluded. Every warranty has exclusions. Ask for the list. A provider who can hand you exclusions in writing has thought about them; one who says "everything's covered" has not.
• Whether the generation estimate came from your bill or an average. A flattering assumption about sunshine or consumption makes a payback slide look wonderful and means nothing. Ask them to show you the arithmetic against your twelve months of BESCOM bills.

Is my sanctioned load enough — and who does the paperwork?

Two administrative questions that decide whether the job actually finishes.

Sanctioned load. BESCOM will not sanction net metering for a system larger than your sanctioned load. Many Bengaluru homes carry an old sanction below what their roof warrants, and the increase is a real statutory charge, billed extra — levied on the increase, rounded up to the next kW: +1 kW ₹10,000 · +2 kW ₹15,000 · +3 kW and above ₹7,000 per kW, all plus 18% GST. It is nil if your existing sanction already suffices, or if you arrange the increase yourself. Ask two things: do I need one, and is it in your quotation or will it appear later?

The paperwork itself. PM Surya Ghar application, society or RWA NOC, civil-work permissions, net-metering forms, BESCOM coordination. Ask who files each one. "We'll help you with it" is not the same as "we file it". If the answer is that you file it, that is a legitimate model — but you should price your own weekday mornings into the comparison, honestly.

One honest answer set

For completeness, here is how Helira answers its own checklist — offered so you can compare like for like, not because you must choose us.

The quotation is all-in with GST shown. The subsidy is stated as credited to your bank account after commissioning, and the DCR premium is disclosed before you sign. Regulatory handling — ₹15,000 (plus 18% GST) is one line, one point of accountability: the PM Surya Ghar application where you opt in, your society or RWA NOC, civil-work permissions where applicable, the net-metering paperwork and BESCOM coordination. You sign the forms; we prepare them, file them and follow the sub-divisions until they clear. A sanctioned-load increase, if you need one, is a separate line, charged extra, shown upfront and never buried.

On the year-four question: Helira Energy Private Limited is a brand and technology company for residential rooftop solar. The physical installation is carried out by installers certified to Helira’s standard — but your contract is with Helira Energy Private Limited, and the warranty and accountability stay with us, not with whoever held the drill. Coverage and exclusions, in full: Warranted by Helira.

Whatever you decide, take the checklist. Ask the questions in writing. If you would like our answers against your own roof and bill: helira.in/start, or message us on WhatsApp — wa.me/918073291022. We work with owner-occupied independent houses in Bengaluru with a monthly bill above about ₹1,500.