Centennial State SolarColorado Solar Decision Center
Centennial State SolarColorado Solar Decision Center
Most people get a solar quote before they understand one. Paste in the numbers from the proposal on your kitchen table and see what they mean: the real price per watt, whether the production estimate is plausible, what the warranties leave out, and what a loan is costing you. Then, if you want one, get a quote from a licensed installer that you'll know how to read.
Enter what the quote says. Leave anything blank you can't find; the sheet fills in as you go. Ranges are rough Colorado norms for 2025–26 and vary with roof, equipment, and how financing is priced in. This is a sanity check, not an appraisal.
kW DC, on the first page of most quotes
Before any credits or rebates
kWh per year
$ per month, optional
percent
years
years, product and performance
years
years; covers the installer's own labor and roof penetrations
Sheet math is arithmetic on what you entered. It knows nothing about your roof, shade, or rate plan, which is why the installer visit still matters.
Every Colorado proposal has the same handful of load-bearing numbers, usually spread across six pages. These are the ones to find, and which of them move when you ask.
The nameplate rating of the panels. Everything else is divided by this. A quote that lists only panel count is hiding it; multiply panels by wattage per panel.
Negotiable: size can be trimmed to match your actual usage.Should be one number before incentives. If the quote leads with a "net price after savings," ask for the gross. On loan proposals, ask directly for the cash price; the difference is the dealer fee.
Negotiable: nearly always, especially at quarter end.Year-1 kWh, with the tool used to produce it (PVWatts, Aurora, Helioscope). Ask for the shade analysis behind it. Then divide by kW: Colorado roofs usually land near 1,300–1,600 kWh per kW.
Not negotiable, but checkable.What rate they used, how much they assumed it rises each year (3% is common; higher inflates savings), and how excess production is credited. Different utilities treat it very differently; see the table below.
Ask for a version at 0% escalation to see the floor.Panel make and model, inverter type (string, microinverter, optimizer), and racking. Tier matters less than warranty terms and whether the installer has serviced that brand before.
Negotiable: most installers carry two or three panel options.Three separate things: panel product and performance (25 years is standard), inverter (10–12 years string, 25 microinverter), and the installer's own workmanship including roof leaks (10 years is good; 25 exists). Who honors the roof warranty if the installer closes?
Negotiable: workmanship terms and extended inverter coverage.APR, term, and any fee rolled into the price. For leases and PPAs: the annual escalator, the buyout schedule, and what the contract requires when you sell the house.
Negotiable: compare the installer's lender with your own credit union.Colorado has one big investor-owned utility, a handful of municipal systems, and more than twenty electric co-ops. How each credits the power you send back decides most of the savings. These notes are general; ask the installer to show the current tariff.
| Utility | Serves | What to ask about |
|---|---|---|
| Xcel Energy | Denver metro, Boulder, most Front Range cities, Grand Junction | Net metering at retail, with residential customers on time-of-use pricing by default, so when you use power matters as much as how much. Ask how the proposal models the evening peak. |
| CORE Electric Cooperative | Douglas, Elbert, parts of Arapahoe and Jefferson counties | Co-op net metering with its own system-size limits and fees. Ask for the current interconnection terms and any fixed monthly charges. |
| Colorado Springs Utilities | Colorado Springs | Municipal utility; excess credit rates and rebate programs have changed over time. Ask what the current credit rate is and whether a rebate is open. |
| Black Hills Energy | Pueblo, Cañon City, parts of southern Colorado | Historically higher residential rates, which improve the case for solar. Ask how excess is credited and whether any program caps apply. |
| Platte River cities | Fort Collins, Longmont, Loveland, Estes Park | Each city runs its own program and rebates. Ask which applies to your address and whether the city requires its own permit review. |
| United Power | Brighton, Firestone, northern Front Range | Co-op with its own rate design for solar customers. Ask for the solar tariff specifically, not the standard residential rate. |
| Holy Cross Energy | Vail, Aspen, Roaring Fork and Eagle valleys | Mountain co-op with active renewable programs. Ask about current net-metering terms and battery incentives. |
| Poudre Valley REA | Rural Larimer, Weld, Boulder counties | Co-op; ask how excess is credited, since co-op credit rates are often below retail. |
| Other co-ops | San Isabel, SLVREC, Mountain Parks, LPEA, Yampa Valley, Gunnison County and more | Rules vary widely. Get the utility's name on the quote and ask the installer to attach the tariff. |
Ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025. A quote for a system you'd own that still shows it as a line item is out of date, and that's worth knowing about the installer.
Leases and power-purchase agreements can still carry a business investment credit that the installer claims and prices into your monthly payment. Judge them on the payment, the escalator, and the buyout, not the credit.
Qualifying solar equipment is exempt from state sales tax. Some local taxes may still apply; ask for the line item.
Colorado exempts the value a residential solar system adds to your home from property tax. Your county assessor can confirm how it's applied.
Rebates and performance payments come and go by utility and by year. Ask the installer which ones are open today, and ask to see the program page rather than a summary.
We review this section and date it. If something has changed, write to hello@centennialstatesolar.com.
Most residential quotes in 2025–26 land roughly between $2.50 and $3.50 per watt DC before incentives. Complicated roofs, premium equipment, and loan fees built into the price push higher; simple roofs and cash purchases run lower. Compare quotes on $/W and you'll see the spread quickly.
About 1,300 to 1,600 kWh per year for each kW of panels is typical for a decent Colorado roof. Shade, east-west orientation, and snow pull it down; a clean south-facing roof at altitude can beat it. A quote well above the range deserves a question about how the shade study was done.
Sometimes. The economics now depend much more on your utility's rate and credit terms, your roof, and the price you negotiate. Run the checker with a 0% rate-escalation version of the quote; if it still pays back inside the warranty period, it's a reasonable decision. If it needs 4% annual rate increases to work, be careful.
Yes, and that's the main reason our form exists. Three is plenty. Make sure each quotes the same system size and the same financing so the $/W comparison is honest.
No. We are a referral service. When you request a quote, one licensed Colorado installer from our partner network contacts you, and they pay us a fee for the introduction. We don't publish reviews or rankings, and the fee doesn't change your price.
A licensed Colorado installer from our partner network reviews your home and bill and sends a proposal you can run through the checker above. No obligation, and you keep the sheet either way.