Self-serve solar quote for your Bengaluru roof — how it works and what it costs

The usual way to find out what rooftop solar costs in Bengaluru is to hand your phone number to three or four companies and then spend a fortnight fielding calls. Someone eventually visits, walks your terrace, and produces a number. You have no idea how it was arrived at, and by then you have invested enough time that walking away feels expensive.

There is a simpler way to start. You enter your address and your monthly electricity bill, and you get a specific, honest estimate for your own roof — in minutes, before anyone visits. This article explains exactly how that works, what the number is built from, and — just as importantly — what a remote estimate cannot settle.

How can you get a solar quote without a site visit?

Two pieces of information do most of the work, and you already have both.

Your address. From it, your roof is measured against satellite imagery — the usable area, the outline, the orientation. This is measurement, not a guess drawn from your locality's average. A 30×40 site in JP Nagar and a 30×40 site two streets away rarely have the same usable roof once the staircase headroom, the water tank and the setbacks are accounted for.

Your monthly electricity bill. This is the part most quotations skip. Your bill tells us what you actually consume in units, and — divided out — what you actually pay per unit, all charges included. That is your effective tariff, and it is almost never the number in the tariff table. Fixed charges, FPPCA and duty push most Bengaluru households well above the headline BESCOM rate. Sizing a system against a flattering statewide average instead of your own bill is the oldest way to make a payback figure look better than it will be. We size against your consumption and your tariff, because those are the only two that will still be true after installation.

From those, the system is sized, the generation estimated for your location, and your PM Surya Ghar subsidy applied — so what you see is the net cost, not a headline price with the awkward parts left for the site visit.

You can run it for your own roof now: helira.in/start.

What does it actually cost — a worked example

Take a 3 kW DCR system on a Bengaluru independent house, in the base case: the roof takes the system, and the existing BESCOM sanctioned load already covers it. For a 3 kW system on a Bengaluru independent house 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 — the full line-by-line breakdown is set out in our worked example.

This is an illustration, not a quote. Your roof, your bill and your sanctioned load will move every line in it. The point of showing it is to demonstrate the shape of the number — nothing here is a surprise held back for the closing conversation.

Two notes on those figures. The ₹78,000 subsidy is credited to your bank account after your system is commissioned and your net meter is installed — it is not booked as a discount against your invoice, so you fund the full amount first. And because the scheme requires DCR panels, which cost more than the imported equivalent, the true incremental benefit of the subsidised route works out closer to ₹59,000 than ₹78,000 — an approximation, but an honest one to plan around.

Regulatory handling — ₹15,000. One fee, one point of accountability: the PM Surya Ghar application (where you opt in), your society or RWA NOC, civil-work permissions (BBMP/BWSSB where applicable), the net-metering paperwork and the coordination with BESCOM. You sign the forms; we prepare them, file them and follow up with the sub-divisions until they clear. It is a single line, not a pile of hidden charges.

If your existing sanctioned load is below the capacity your roof warrants, BESCOM requires a sanctioned-load increase before net metering. That is a separate statutory line, charged extra, on the increase and 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 current sanction already suffices, or if you arrange the increase yourself. Shown only where you need it, stated upfront, never buried in the bundle.

What can a remote estimate not tell you?

This is where an honest answer is more useful than a confident one. A satellite measurement and a bill get you a sound estimate. They do not get you a final figure. Four things are settled at the site survey, not before:

• Panel placement. Where the array actually sits, once the parapet, the tank, the staircase block and your terrace's real usage are seen at eye level.
• Shading. Your neighbour's building, a coconut palm, an overhead line — the things that cast an afternoon shadow are exactly the things satellite imagery reads poorly.
• Sanctioned-load enhancement. Whether you need one, and for how many kW.
• Civil permissions and structural detail. The roof's condition, cable routing, and whether anything about your building triggers a permission the estimate assumed away.

So treat the online number as a well-founded starting point, confirmed on site. And if the survey says the maths does not work for your roof — too little usable area, shading that cannot be designed around, a bill that will not carry the payback — we will tell you so, and say no. A system that underperforms for 25 years is a worse outcome for us than a sale we did not make.

Who is on the other side of the contract?

Helira Energy Private Limited is a brand and technology company for residential rooftop solar in Bengaluru. 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. You never chase a manufacturer or an installer. Full coverage, including exclusions: Warranted by Helira.

Start with the number

You should be able to find out what solar costs on your roof without surrendering your afternoon or your phone number to four call centres. Enter an address, enter a bill, see the honest figure — then decide whether a survey is worth your time.

Get your estimate in minutes at 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 — rented homes, apartment common areas and commercial rooftops are not something we serve yet.