How to Choose a Solar Installer in Lagos

Lagos has hundreds of solar companies — from established firms with years of track record to WhatsApp vendors who disappear after collecting a deposit. This is the checklist we apply before we let an installer anywhere near a customer build. Use it yourself, whoever ends up doing your installation.

The stakes are real. A 3.5kVA · 5kWh lithium system costs ₦1,800,000–₦2,600,000 installed as of September 2026, so a typical 50% deposit is close to ₦1,000,000. That is not money to hand over on a phone call.

1. CAC Registration and a Physical Presence

Any serious installer is a registered business. Ask for the CAC registration number and check it on the CAC public search. Then ask for a verifiable address — a shop, office or warehouse you could visit, or at least confirm on Google Maps. Installers who operate purely via WhatsApp with no registered business and no address are the single biggest source of "collected deposit, disappeared" stories.

This matters most for after-sales. If an inverter faults six months later, you need someone you can actually reach.

2. Three Past Installs — With Photos and Phone Numbers

Ask for at least three completed installations: photos of the panel array, the inverter and battery wall, and the distribution board, plus the customer's phone number for each. A reputable installer has these on their phone already. Hesitation is a red flag.

When you call the references, ask specifically: Did they finish on time? Does the system run what was promised? Did they come back when something went wrong? Photos tell you about workmanship — tidy cable runs, labelled breakers, panels on proper rails rather than wooden battens.

3. Ask Exactly Which Brands — and Check the Prices

Good installers can tell you precisely what they use and why. In the Nigerian market today that means hybrid inverters from Felicity or Sako (budget), Growatt, Luxpower or Solis (mid), and Deye or Victron (premium); Tier-1 panels from Jinko, JA Solar, Longi, Trina or Canadian Solar; and lithium (LiFePO4) batteries from Deye, Felicity, Growatt or Dyness.

Be cautious of "we use quality components" — that is not an answer. Once you have brand names, check what they actually cost from Nigerian vendors on our brands and prices page. If an installer's equipment line is far above vendor prices, ask why.

4. Correct Sizing Before Any Quote

An installer who quotes a system size without asking what you run, for how many hours, is guessing. Undersized systems trip constantly; oversized ones waste money on batteries you never use. Do the load calculation yourself first with our free calculator — it turns your appliance list into peak kW, kWh per day and a sized system — so you walk into every conversation knowing what you need.

Then insist on a site survey before paying anything. Roof condition, cable run lengths and your existing wiring all change the job.

5. An Itemised Quote, Not a Lump Sum

A proper quote lists every line: inverter (brand, kVA), battery (brand, kWh, number of modules), panels (brand, wattage, count), mounting, cables, breakers and surge protection, and labour — each with its own price. A single "₦2.5M all-in" figure hides where the money goes and makes it impossible to compare quotes.

As a sanity check on the labour line: roof-mount installation in Lagos runs ₦20,000–₦60,000 per kVA as of September 2026, with a floor of about ₦100,000 for small jobs. So labour on a 5kVA system should sit around ₦100,000–₦300,000, not ₦800,000. Our calculator produces exactly this kind of itemised quote, priced from the same vendor data on the brands page.

6. A Written Workmanship Warranty

Equipment warranties come from the manufacturer (typically 2–5 years on inverters, 5–10 years on lithium batteries, 10–25 years on panels). Workmanship — the wiring, mounting, earthing and commissioning — is on the installer. Get a minimum of one year in writing, stating what is covered and how quickly they will attend a fault.

7. Red Flags to Watch For

• ✕Asking for full payment upfront before installation begins
• ✕No written, itemised quotation — just a total
• ✕No workmanship warranty offered (minimum should be 1 year, in writing)
• ✕Unwilling to provide photos of past installs or phone numbers of past customers
• ✕Price far below vendor equipment prices (usually means refurbished or fake-brand parts)
• ✕No CAC registration, no physical address
• ✕Quoting a system size without asking what you run

How We Apply This Checklist

When you send us a quote from the calculator, we confirm the prices against current vendor stock, source the equipment from Nigerian vendors, and assign an installer we have already vetted against every point above — CAC registration, at least three past installs with photos, references we have called, and a written workmanship warranty. We manage the build through to commissioning.

The full process is on our how we vet installers page. It does not guarantee perfection, but it removes the guesswork from the part of the job most people get wrong.

Final Checklist Before You Pay

• ✓You have an itemised written quote with exact brands, kVA, kWh and panel count
• ✓The installer is CAC-registered and you have confirmed a physical address
• ✓You have seen photos of at least three past installs and spoken to one customer
• ✓The system size came from your actual appliance list, not a guess
• ✓Payment is structured: deposit + balance on commissioning
• ✓A workmanship warranty period is written into the agreement