“Free solar installation” — what it really means
The phrase is everywhere in solar advertising. Here is what is genuinely included, what never is, and how to read an offer that uses it.
Installation labour can be free. The system cannot.
Almost every solar company in California includes installation labour in the system price rather than billing it separately. So when an advertisement says “free installation”, the claim is usually literally true and almost entirely meaningless — it is describing standard industry practice as though it were a concession.
What matters is the next question: what are you paying for the energy system itself, and in what form? There are only four answers, and any honest quote will tell you which one you are looking at.
The four ways a Sacramento system gets paid for
| Route | Up-front cost | Who owns the system | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash purchase | Full system price | You | Lowest lifetime cost; largest cash outlay |
| Solar loan | Often $0 | You | You own it, but interest adds to lifetime cost |
| Lease | Often $0 | The finance company | Fixed monthly payment; you do not own the asset |
| Power purchase agreement | Often $0 | The finance company | You buy the power it produces at an agreed rate |
All four exist in the Sacramento market and all four are legitimate. Which is right for you depends on your tax position, your cash position and how long you intend to stay in the house — which is precisely why we will not tell you the answer in a first phone call. Read leasing versus buying and $0-down options before you decide.
Three warning signs in a “free solar” offer
1. The system price is never stated
If a proposal shows you a monthly payment but no total installed price and no price per watt, you cannot compare it with anything. Ask for both. A company that will not give you a price per watt is making the comparison deliberately difficult.
2. The escalator is in the small print
Many lease and power purchase agreements include an annual payment escalator — often in the region of 1.9% to 2.9% a year. Over twenty years that compounds substantially. It is not necessarily a bad deal, but it must be in the comparison.
3. The pitch is urgency, not engineering
“This pricing is only available today” is a sales technique, not a market condition. Solar equipment pricing does not change hourly. Any company unwilling to leave a written quote with you overnight is telling you something important about itself.
What we do instead
We quote the installed system price and the price per watt, in writing, with the equipment model numbers named. If you want to compare it against three other bids over a fortnight, that is exactly what we would do in your position.
“Free solar” questions
Is ‘free solar installation’ actually free?
The installation labour can genuinely be included at no separate charge — that part is real and common across the industry. What is never free is the energy system itself. Any advertisement implying panels cost you nothing is describing a lease or a power purchase agreement, where you pay monthly for the power instead of owning the hardware. That can be a perfectly reasonable arrangement. It is just not free.
What about ‘no cost’ government solar programmes?
Treat any unsolicited call or advertisement offering a ‘free government solar programme’ with real suspicion. There is no federal or California programme that gives homeowners free solar panels. Low-income assistance programmes do exist and are administered through specific agencies — never through a cold call.
So what is genuinely included in your price?
Site audit, shade study, system design, structural and electrical engineering, permit submittal and plan-check corrections, installation labour, inspection coordination, utility interconnection paperwork and monitoring setup. Those are all inside the number we quote. Anything outside it — a main panel upgrade, a re-roof, a trenching run to a detached structure — is itemised separately and identified before you sign.
See what solar would actually cost on your roof.
Every quote is built from your real roof, your real shade and your real power bill — not a guess from a call centre. It is free, and there is no obligation to move forward.