See what a solar proposal tells you. Find what it leaves unanswered.

A real document. A deliberately limited excerpt.

The excerpt preserves the document’s numbers without publishing the customer file. Its presence does not establish current product availability or validate compatibility.

Check the arithmetic before judging the forecast

16 × 460 W = 7,360 W = 7.36 kW. The module count and module rating support the stated DC system size. That is a consistency check, not confirmation that the equipment is suitable for the property.

3,052 kWh ÷ 7.36 kW ≈ 415 kWh per kW per year. This describes the production estimate relative to array size. It is not a performance grade. The excerpt does not tell us whether shading, orientation, a partial array, an export setting or another modeling assumption explains the number.

kW describes power or rated capacity. kWh describes energy over time. A 7.36 kW label does not mean the system produces 7.36 kWh every hour throughout the year.

Ask for the model behind the production number

1. Does the production total cover every proposed roof plane and module?
2. Which shading, orientation, tilt and weather inputs support it?
3. What losses, availability assumptions and equipment constraints were modeled?
4. Is the figure an estimate of generation, exported energy or something else?
5. Can the reviewer provide the underlying simulation summary and explain the assumptions?

Those questions identify the next evidence needed. They do not establish that the original forecast is wrong. A qualified project reviewer must assess the full design and site information.

A battery-capacity number is not a backup plan

The proposal names a battery and an energy-capacity field. That alone does not identify protected circuits, simultaneous power demand, starting loads, reserve settings or outage runtime. Ask for the actual backup scope and the hardware required to support it.

Tesla explains that backup suitability depends on system configuration and appliances. Use the manufacturer’s backup guidance alongside a project-specific design. Our energy-budget example explains the arithmetic without promising a runtime.

Make the scope as clear as the headline price

A battery-cost line, a cash-price line and a total-cost line should reconcile. Their labels alone do not prove whether every item is included, optional or counted separately. We omit this customer’s pricing, but the review question is useful for any proposal.

• Is storage included in the installed total?
• Are electrical, roof and backup-circuit requirements included or excluded?
• Which parts are allowances rather than fixed prices?
• Which survey findings can change the scope?
• Who signs off on the final written design and responsibilities?

Use our comparison checklist to request a review of your own scope. The next result should be a proposal you can understand, not another unexplained number.