Everything we get asked twice or more.

Solar panels convert sunlight directly into DC electricity through photovoltaic cells. That DC current passes through an inverter that converts it to grid-compatible AC, which then powers your home appliances. Excess generation feeds back to the grid through a net meter, and you draw from the grid when your panels aren't producing (at night or on cloudy days). The whole system is silent, has no moving parts, and lasts 25+ years.

A 3 kW system — enough for a typical 2-3 BHK home — costs roughly ₹1.65 lakh before subsidy. The PM Surya Ghar scheme provides up to ₹78,000 in central subsidy, bringing your out-of-pocket cost to around ₹87,000. Add ₹5,000-₹10,000 for state-level incentives in some states. Larger systems scale proportionally — about ₹55,000 per kilowatt installed.

Tier-1 panels come with two warranties: a 12-year product warranty against manufacturing defects, and a 25-year linear performance warranty. The latter guarantees panels still produce at least 80% of their rated output at year 25. In practice, most well-maintained systems are still generating 85-90% of original output after 25 years — there's no hard end-of-life, just gradual degradation.

The main programme is PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which offers ₹30,000/kW for the first 2 kW, ₹18,000/kW for the third kW, capped at ₹78,000 for residential consumers. Several states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan) add their own incentives on top. Agricultural users have a separate scheme — PM-KUSUM — which covers solar pumps and grid-tied agricultural systems. We file all paperwork on your behalf.

Yes — most major banks (SBI, Canara, PNB, HDFC) offer dedicated solar loans at 7-9% interest with 5-10 year tenures. Several are categorised as priority sector lending, meaning faster processing and lower rates. Loan EMIs are typically less than the electricity savings, so you're cash-positive from month one. We can connect you to our partner banks for a streamlined application.

For most residential installations, the payback period is 4-5 years after subsidy. Commercial systems pay back even faster — typically 3.5-4.5 years — because commercial tariffs are higher and they get the benefit of accelerated depreciation. After payback, every unit you generate is essentially free electricity for the remaining 20+ years.

Surprisingly little. The panels themselves have no moving parts. The main requirement is keeping them clean — dust, bird droppings, and pollen reduce output by 10-20% if left for months. Quarterly cleaning is sufficient in most cities; monthly in dusty areas. The inverter usually needs replacement at the 10-12 year mark. We offer annual maintenance contracts that cover everything: cleaning, inspection, performance monitoring, and inverter servicing.

Grid-tied systems shut down automatically during a grid outage — this is a safety feature called 'anti-islanding,' which prevents your panels from electrocuting linemen working on the grid. To keep running during outages, you need a battery backup or hybrid system. We can quote both options; most residential customers find that batteries don't pay back economically yet, so they accept grid outage downtime.

Yes, but at reduced output. Panels still generate from diffuse light through clouds — typically 20-40% of peak output during heavy overcast. Over a full year, monsoon performance is already baked into our generation estimates, so your annual savings calculation accounts for the rainy months. Heavy rain also tends to clean the panels, which is a small bonus.

From signed contract to grid-connected system: about 14 days for a typical residential install. Site survey takes 1 day. DISCOM application and approval is 5-7 days (we file it the day you sign). Physical installation is 2-3 days. Final inspection and net meter installation is another 2-3 days. We give a Gantt chart with the proposal so you know exactly when each step happens.

For independent houses, only DISCOM approval is needed — and that's part of our standard process. For apartment buildings and gated societies, you typically need a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the resident welfare association or society board, especially for shared rooftops. We provide a template NOC and have helped customers navigate over 60 society approvals.

We'll tell you upfront, after the site survey. The honest answer is that about 1 in 8 properties we survey isn't a good fit — usually due to severe shading from nearby buildings or trees, structurally weak roofs, or panels that would face north (poor performance in India). In those cases, we'll recommend alternatives like community solar or open-access solar from a third-party site.