How FairWatt works
Every number on the site, and where it comes from.
The quote verdict
Your quote is turned into a price per kWp: the price divided by the system size. It is compared with community quotes from 2025 on that have a similar battery (none, up to 7 kWh, or 8 kWh and more) and a system size within 25% of yours. At least 3 such quotes are needed.
- Below typical: more than 10% under the median of those quotes.
- Fair price: within 10% of the median.
- Above typical: 10% to 25% over.
- Well above typical: more than 25% over.
When there are too few similar quotes for a system without a battery, it uses a published Irish range of about €1,600 to €2,100 per kWp before grant. Otherwise it says there isn't enough data yet.
Electricity plan costs
Each plan is priced half-hour by half-hour: night is 11pm to 8am, peak is 5pm to 7pm, day is the rest, and EV plans have their own charging window. Prices include 9% VAT, the advertised discount, the standing charge (urban or rural) and the €6.67 PSO levy. With a smart meter file, your real readings are used. Without one, a typical Irish usage pattern is used, with more use in winter and in the evening.
The solar, battery and car simulator
Solar output uses Irish yields of about 900 kWh per kWp a year for south-facing panels, adjusted for direction, with day-to-day weather variation. A battery is modelled with 92% round-trip efficiency and charges from your panels, or from the grid at night if you choose. Shading is not included. A car uses about 0.19 kWh per km, charged in the hours you pick.
Keeping the data honest
- Each visitor can post up to 20 times a day.
- Quotes with unusual prices (under €600 or over €4,500 per kWp), reviews with links or phone numbers, repeated wording, or bursts of reviews for one installer are held for a manual check before they appear.
- Names, addresses and photos of homeowners are never published.
- Rates are re-checked every morning, and only changed when a supplier's own published price says so.
Is your solar quote a fair price?
Type in the numbers from your quote. We compare it with real quotes from Irish homes of a similar size, with a similar battery, and tell you what to ask before you sign.
What Irish homes are being quoted
Each dot is a community quote from 2025 on. Lower is better value. Hover a dot for details.
My quotes
Compare the quotes you’ve saved, side by side.
What Ireland is paying for solar
Real quotes shared by homeowners, so you can see what a fair price looks like before you sign. Filter to compare homes like yours.
Latest quotes
The most recently shared quotes for this selection.
Installers
Every dot is one quote, all on the same price scale, so you can compare spreads at a glance.
Got a solar quote?
Check it in a minute, then share it anonymously so the next person knows what’s fair.
Find an installer
See who installs in your county, how their prices compare with real community quotes, and whether customers paid what they were quoted. Shortlist up to three and send them all the same questions.
Find your cheapest electricity plan
Load the smart meter file from your ESB Networks account. Every plan is priced on each half hour you actually used, then we show where your power goes and what solar, a battery or an electric car would change.
Rates from suppliers’ own price lists, checked weekly.
Test changes against your real readings
Each half hour of your data is re-run with these panels, battery and car, then every plan is re-priced.
Prices include VAT, the supplier’s stated discount and the PSO levy (€6.67 a year). Standing charges differ for rural homes. Discounts usually last 12 months. Check the plan with the supplier before switching.
Before you sign
Tick what your quote includes. Anything missing becomes a question for the installer.
Quote checklist
Watch-outs
- A large deposit asked for before anyone has surveyed your roof.
- Pressure to sign today, or a discount that expires this week.
- No panel, inverter or battery brand named.
- A price far below the community median with no clear reason.
- Extras such as a gateway, changeover switch or scaffolding that appear only after you sign.