How to pick a solar installation company in Lahore

Why this checklist exists

Lahore has hundreds of solar installation outfits in 2026. A handful are competent. Many are middlemen with no engineering on staff. Some are running on equipment dumps from China that did not pass NEPRA testing. The honest cost difference between the best and worst installer for the same nominal "10 kW system" is around PKR 400,000 to PKR 700,000, and the cheaper system breaks more often, generates less, and cannot get net metering.

This checklist filters out the wrong ones in under an hour of conversation. Ask each question. Listen for the answer to be specific, not generic.

1. NEPRA-approved inverter on the BoQ — by model number

NEPRA maintains a list of inverters approved for net metering in Pakistan. A complete BoQ should name the inverter brand and model number, not just "5 kW hybrid inverter". If the BoQ says only the brand, ask for the specific model and check it against the NEPRA approval list. Brands that have models on the 2026 list include Sungrow, Solis, Deye, Goodwe, Solax, Huawei, INVT, Inverex Nitrox, and a few others. An inverter not on the list will fail the AGM inspection. The application gets rejected. The homeowner has to buy a second inverter to file again.

Red flag: the salesperson says "all our inverters are NEPRA-approved" but cannot send the model number on WhatsApp before the meeting ends. That conversation should end there.

2. A real engineer comes to the site, not a salesperson with a measuring tape

A proper survey involves taking azimuth angles, measuring shade pattern at 9 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm, checking the roof slab thickness or condition, looking at the existing distribution box, measuring the cable run length, and asking about the diesel generator if there is one. This takes 45 to 90 minutes for a single home. A 15-minute "look at the roof" visit by a sales guy who eyeballs the layout and quotes the same number to every 10-marla house in the neighbourhood is not a survey.

Ask who is coming for the site visit and what their role is. The right answer is "an electrical engineer with on-roof experience". If the answer is "our salesperson" or "our representative", the assessment is probably going to skip things that matter.

3. Full BoQ with itemised pricing — not just a final number

The quote should list every component with brand, model, quantity, and price. Panels brand and wattage. Inverter brand and model. Battery brand, capacity, and warranty term. Mounting structure specification (steel section size, galvanising thickness). Cable size and type. Each protection device. Net metering fee. Labour. If the quote says "complete 10 kW solar system including installation: PKR 1,650,000" with no breakdown, the seller is hiding what they are actually delivering. Itemisation lets the homeowner compare quotes apples-to-apples.

A side benefit of an itemised BoQ: in 5 years when something fails, the homeowner has a record of exactly what was installed. Many service calls in 2026 are on systems installed in 2022 where the homeowner cannot remember which inverter brand it was, and the original installer has gone out of business.

4. Written warranty — separate by component

A real warranty document specifies:

• Panels: 12-year product warranty, 25-year linear performance warranty (typical for Tier 1 brands)
• Inverter: 5-year standard (Sungrow, Solis, Solax), extendable to 10 years on request
• Lithium battery: 5 to 10 years depending on brand and cycle count
• Tubular battery: 18 to 24 months
• Mounting structure: 5 to 10 years against rust and structural integrity
• Workmanship: minimum 12 months, ideally 24 months from the installer

The workmanship warranty is the one that catches most issues. Wiring faults, mounting issues, configuration errors all show up in the first 12 to 18 months. An installer offering only a 6-month workmanship warranty is signalling something about their confidence in their own work.

5. Sane payment terms — not 100 percent upfront

A typical 2026 Lahore solar payment structure works like this: 50 percent on signing and material order, 30 percent on physical installation completion, 20 percent on commissioning and grid sync. Some installers offer 40-40-20. The variations are reasonable.

What is not reasonable is 100 percent upfront before the survey. That is a sign of a thin company that is using the homeowner's money to buy the panels for the next job, which means the homeowner is funding someone else's install. If the installer goes bust between order and delivery, the money is gone. Always retain at least 15 to 20 percent until commissioning, ideally tied to the AGM net metering inspection passing.

6. After-sales — who picks up the phone in year 3?

Year 1 service is easy because the work is fresh and the installer remembers the layout. Year 3 is when the fan dies, the panels need a serious clean, or the inverter needs a board-level look. Ask the installer two questions. First, do they have a service number that is separate from the sales number? Second, can they share a sample service report from a customer who is 2+ years post-install? Companies that have been running for fewer than 18 months cannot answer the second question honestly. That is fine for them, but the homeowner should know that the after-sales coverage on a young company is a bet, not a certainty.

Companies that operate from a shopfront with a service team based in Lahore (not in another city flying in) are easier to reach in year 3. Companies that only have a WhatsApp number and no physical address tend to disappear.

7. References — talk to actual customers, not just check Facebook

Facebook and Google reviews are partly real and partly bought in Lahore's solar market. Reliable signals come from actual customer conversations. Ask the installer for 3 references in the same neighbourhood or within 5 km. Call those customers. Ask three questions. How long was the install supposed to take and how long did it actually take? Has anything gone wrong, and how was it handled? Is the monthly bill what the installer promised it would be?

An installer with real customer references will have these names ready. One that fumbles or only offers references in a different city is hiding something.

Quick scoring sheet

Take three quotes from three companies. Apply the 7 checks. Each pass = 1 point.

Check	What "pass" looks like
1. NEPRA inverter	Specific brand and model on BoQ, confirmable on NEPRA list
2. Engineer on site	Electrical engineer named, did 45+ minute survey with measurements
3. Itemised BoQ	Every component with brand, model, quantity, price
4. Written warranty	Document, component-by-component, ≥ 12 months workmanship
5. Payment terms	Staged payment, last 15-20% on commissioning
6. After-sales	Service number separate from sales, sample service report shown
7. References	3 contactable customers from the same area, calls go through

A 7/7 company is rare and usually charges 10 to 15 percent more than the cheapest quote. They are worth it. A 5/7 company is acceptable if the missing 2 are minor (e.g. only 1 year of workmanship instead of 2). Anything under 4/7 is a gamble that the homeowner should not take on a million-rupee purchase.

The price discount trap

Most homeowners are tempted by the cheapest quote. The math on why this rarely works out: a PKR 1.6 million quote that fails NEPRA testing means buying a second NEPRA-approved inverter (PKR 300,000+) and a second wave of paperwork. A PKR 1.7 million quote with a 6-month workmanship warranty means paying for any wiring fix that shows up in months 7 to 18 (PKR 8,000 to PKR 50,000 each). A PKR 1.5 million quote with no real after-sales means paying a different installer to do every service call at "new customer" rates (PKR 4,500 to PKR 8,000 trip charge each time vs PKR 2,500 for the original installer's customer).

Over 5 years, the cheapest quote often ends up being PKR 150,000 to PKR 400,000 more expensive than the middle-priced one. The middle-priced quote is usually where the 6/7 or 7/7 installers sit.

Local credentials worth checking

Companies registered with Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), members of the Pakistan Solar Association, or contractors who have done installs for known commercial customers (schools, banks, factories) generally have more accountability than unregistered outfits. AEDB registration is publicly verifiable.

The number of installations completed and the warranty count of active systems is a useful proxy for capability. A company that has done 50+ installs in Lahore has seen enough roofs, enough LESCO offices, and enough fault patterns to handle the next one well. A first-year company without that operational history might still do good work, but the risk is higher.