A solar sale has an order. Price comes last.
The reps who close consistently don’t improvise on the doorstep. They measure the roof, explain the system, read the bill and profile the household before a price is mentioned. This is the structure we train, and the tools that make each step quick.
Size the roof before you go up the ladder.
A doorstep estimate needs three numbers: the clearance margins, the size of a tile and the size of a panel. With those, a rep can size most roofs from the driveway in a couple of minutes.
Start with the clearance margins
Panels can’t run to the edge of the roof. The margins we train keep panels about 500mm in from the left and right edges, 250mm from the ridge and eaves, and 150mm clear of vents, skylights and other features. Get these wrong and the layout is redrawn on site.
Count tiles, not metres
Most Irish roof tiles and slates expose roughly 300 × 300mm to the weather. Count the rows and columns from the ground and you have the roof in tile units, no tape measure or drone required.
A panel with its mounting gaps is about 1.2 × 1.8m. That’s four tiles by six in portrait, or six by four in landscape. The roof’s proportions decide which orientation fits more, so always test both.
Worked example: test both orientations
A rep counts a roof at 24 tiles wide by 18 tall, about 7.2 × 5.4m. Take the margins off first: about two tiles at each side, and one at the ridge and one at the eaves, leaves 20 × 16 tiles of usable roof.
- Portrait: 20 ÷ 4 = 5 across, 16 ÷ 6 = 2 down
- Landscape: 20 ÷ 6 = 3 across, 16 ÷ 4 = 4 down
- Quote the higher count as the estimate
Explain the whole system in one drawing.
Customers buy what they understand. One diagram, drawn standing in the driveway, covers the whole system and earns the right to talk about kit later.
Turn the bill into an annual number.
Almost every Irish electricity bill shows an average daily use. Find it, and the customer’s annual consumption can be worked out on the doorstep, in front of them.
Profile the household before the price sheet.
The bill says how much power the home uses. Six questions say when, and why. Ask them before looking at the roof; the answers size the system and set up the value conversation.
Match the kit to the home, then tell the story.
Most installers offer two or three routes. The skill is matching the route to the household you’ve just profiled, and explaining it in one sentence instead of a spec sheet.
Integrated platform
Inverter, battery and optional EV charging in one stack, run from one app. Modular, so storage can grow later.
Battery-ready hybrid
A hybrid inverter on the same platform, without the full battery on day one. Storage can be added later without changing the inverter.
Proven inverter and battery
A dependable, clearly specified inverter with stackable storage sized to the home, without the premium of an integrated platform.
- N-type cells. Higher efficiency and no early light-induced degradation.
- Low-light performance. More output on dull Irish days.
- Glass-glass construction. Lasts longer than glass-backsheet; bifacial panels gain a little extra.
- Corrosion testing. Salt and ammonia ratings matter on coastal and rural sites.
- The power warranty figure. What output is guaranteed at year 25 or 30, not just the headline years.
- Tier 1 listing and certifications. The basics a customer can check themselves.
Check what’s in the base kit
Some features customers assume are standard aren’t. Instant backup switchover during a power cut, for example, often needs an extra gateway component that depends on the survey and is priced separately. Confirm it before quoting, not after.
Fit optimisers only where the roof needs them
Panels in a string share one current, so a shaded panel can pull down the output of the panels around it. An optimiser on that panel manages it independently.
Fit them where there’s fixed daily shade from a tree, chimney or dormer, or where panels split across several roof faces. Not across the whole array.
Measure it right. Explain it simply. Then price it.
The sequence protects the price. By the time the number comes up, the customer has seen their roof sized, their bill read and their household profiled. The price becomes the answer to a problem they’ve already agreed they have, and not the first number they hear.
What to check this week
When price comes up
Ride along on three appointments. How many minutes in is price first mentioned, and who raises it, the rep or the customer?
The bill, annualised
Do reps work out annual use from the bill in front of the customer, and do they correct for a summer bill before sizing a battery?
Driveway against survey
Compare last month’s doorstep panel estimates with the surveyed layouts. Big gaps usually mean the margins or the tile count are being skipped.
Common questions
How do you estimate how many solar panels fit on a roof from the ground?
Count the exposed tiles or slates across and down, since most Irish tiles show about 300 × 300mm. Take off the clearance margins, then divide by a panel footprint of four tiles by six in portrait or six by four in landscape. Test both orientations and use the higher count as an estimate only.
How do you work out annual electricity use from an Irish bill?
Find the average daily use on the bill and add the day, night and peak figures together. Multiply by 365 for an annual estimate. Because a summer bill understates winter use, check a winter bill or the supplier app’s annual total before sizing a battery.
When should a solar rep give the price?
Last. Measure the roof, explain the system, read the bill and profile the household first. By then the price answers a problem the customer has already agreed they have, rather than being the first number they hear.