The Solar Scam Checklist: How to Avoid Shady Installers

Bottom line up front: Most solar "scams" in New Zealand are not outright fraud, they are aggressive sales tactics that pressure homeowners into oversized, overpriced systems they would never have agreed to with a clear head. The single most effective protection is a simple rule: never sign anything on the day of a sales visit, always verify the installer's electrical worker registration on the EWRB public register, and get three independent quotes. If a salesperson refuses to leave you with a written quote to think over, that is your scam right there. Run.

This article is a plain-English checklist for any Kiwi homeowner being approached by a solar company, whether through a door knock, a shopping-mall booth, a Facebook ad, or a polished home consultation. It is for the ROI Pragmatist who suspects the maths is dodgy, for the Eco-Conscious family who wants to do the right thing without being taken for a ride, and for the Tech Optimiser who wants to make sure the gear they are quoted actually exists at the price quoted. We will cover the red flags, the legal verifications you can do in about ten minutes, and what to say to politely shut a high-pressure pitch down.

What "Solar Scams" Actually Look Like in NZ

Outright fraud (taking deposits and disappearing) does happen in New Zealand, but it is rare. The far more common problem is what Consumer NZ has repeatedly flagged in its reporting on the solar sector: misleading sales practices that are technically legal but financially damaging.

These include inflated savings claims, "today only" pricing, fake "approved installer" badges, and finance contracts bundled at the kitchen table without any cooling-off period being properly explained. The Commerce Commission has investigated multiple solar companies under the Fair Trading Act 1986 for exactly this kind of behaviour.

Here is what scams and shady practice typically look like on the ground in Aotearoa:

• Door-to-door knockers claiming your suburb has been "selected" for a government-subsidised solar programme (there is no such national household subsidy, EECA grants are specific and well-documented).
• Shopping mall booths offering "free quotes" that turn into a two-hour home visit with a closer.
• "Today-only" discounts of $3,000-$8,000 that vanish if you don't sign on the night.
• Inflated ROI claims ("you'll pay it off in three years" or "you'll never pay a power bill again") that ignore real export rates, your actual consumption pattern, and the standing daily charge you still pay your lines company.
• Bundled finance at high effective rates, presented as "weekly payments less than your power bill" without showing the total cost of credit.
• Vague hardware specs on the quote: "premium 6.6 kW system" with no panel brand, no inverter model, no warranty document.

None of these are necessarily illegal in isolation. Stacked together, they are the fingerprint of a company that makes its money from one-shot sales, not long-term customers.

The 12-Point Scam Checklist

Print this. Stick it on the fridge. If a solar quote you have been pitched fails three or more of these checks, walk away.

1. Did they knock on your door uncold?

Reputable NZ solar installers do not need to door-knock. They are booked out from referrals and online enquiries. Door-knocking is almost exclusively the domain of commission-based sales reps working a script. A polite "no thanks, we go through an independent comparison service" is the right answer at the front door.

2. Are they asking you to sign tonight?

Any pressure to sign on the first visit is a hard red flag. A legitimate installer expects you to compare quotes over one to three weeks. The "this price is only good tonight" line exists for one reason: to stop you from getting comparison quotes.

3. Have they given you the installer's name and EWRB number?

Solar PV installation is electrical work and must be done by, or under the supervision of, a registered electrical worker under the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010. You can verify any electrician for free on the Electrical Workers Registration Board public register at ewrb.govt.nz. If the company can't give you the name of the actual person who will do the work, that is not a real quote.

4. Is the company a member of SEANZ?

The Sustainable Energy Association of New Zealand (SEANZ) is the industry body. Membership is not mandatory, but reputable installers tend to be members and follow the SEANZ Code of Ethics. Check the SEANZ website directly, do not trust a logo on a brochure (logos get faked).

5. Does the quote list specific brands and model numbers?

The quote should name the panel manufacturer and model (e.g. Jinko Tiger Neo 440W, LONGi Hi-MO 6), the inverter brand and model (e.g. Fronius Primo, Sungrow SH-RS, Enphase IQ8), and if a battery is included, the battery brand, model and capacity in kWh (e.g. Tesla Powerwall 3, BYD Battery-Box Premium HVS). "Premium tier-1 panels" is not a specification, it is marketing.

6. Are warranties documented in writing?

You should receive, before signing, the product warranty (typically 12-25 years on panels, 10-12 years on inverters, 10 years on batteries), the performance warranty on the panels (usually 25-30 years on a degradation curve), and the installation workmanship warranty from the installer themselves (look for at least 5 years, ideally 10). If any of these are verbal, they don't exist.

7. Does the ROI maths show their working?

A reputable proposal shows your current annual kWh usage (from your power bill), the expected annual generation of the proposed system based on your roof orientation and location, the assumed self-consumption percentage, the assumed export buy-back rate, and the resulting annual savings. Vague "save $X,000 per year" claims with no maths behind them are a red flag. Run your own numbers using our Solar System Cost & ROI Calculator as a sanity check.

8. Did they ask about your power retailer?

Your export buy-back rate hugely affects ROI, and it varies a lot between retailers. A salesperson who hasn't asked which retailer you are with, or doesn't know that Octopus, Ecotricity, Contact, Genesis and Mercury all have different solar plans, is either inexperienced or running a generic script. The honest answer is that they should help you compare retailer rates as part of the sale.

9. Are they pushing a finance package they "arranged"?

Be very wary of finance offered by the installer themselves or a finance partner who appears at the kitchen table. Often the effective interest rate, once you account for fees and balloon payments, is far worse than what you would get from a major bank's green loan. Westpac, ANZ, BNZ and Kiwibank all offer low-rate sustainability loans; check our Trust Pillar for the principles we apply to finance vetting.

10. Is the deposit reasonable?

A normal deposit is 10-20% on signing, with the balance on completion of install and commissioning. If they want 50% or more upfront, or if they want full payment before any equipment arrives on site, that is a major risk. Several collapsed NZ solar companies left customers out of pocket exactly this way.

11. Are they CoC compliant?

On completion, you must receive a Certificate of Compliance (CoC) and an Electrical Safety Certificate (ESC), signed by the registered electrical worker. Your lines company (Vector in Auckland, Orion in Canterbury, Wellington Electricity, Powerco, Aurora, Unison, Top Energy, etc.) will also require an Application to Connect for the export side. Ask which forms they will lodge and when you will receive copies.

12. Will they put you in touch with three recent customers?

Not Google reviews, not website testimonials: actual phone numbers of three real customers from the last 12 months in your region. A confident installer will hand these over without flinching. A dodgy one will get evasive.

How to Verify an Installer in 10 Minutes

Once you have a quote in hand, the verification process is surprisingly quick. Sit down with a cuppa and work through this:

1. EWRB register check (2 minutes): Go to ewrb.govt.nz, search the name of the registered electrical worker named on your quote, confirm their licence is current and not subject to disciplinary action.
2. Companies Office check (2 minutes): Search the company name on companiesoffice.govt.nz. Check how long they have been trading, who the directors are, and whether they have changed names recently (a common move for companies trying to outrun bad reviews).
3. SEANZ membership check (1 minute): Look up the company on the SEANZ member directory directly.
4. Consumer NZ search (2 minutes): Search the company name in Consumer NZ's complaints database and articles.
5. Disputes Tribunal / Commerce Commission search (3 minutes): A general Google search of "[company name] Commerce Commission" or "[company name] Disputes Tribunal" will surface any public actions.

If you want this done for you, that is literally what our independent vetting exists for. See our 13-Step Installer Vetting Process for the full method we run on every installer in our network.

What This Means for You

If you're the ROI Pragmatist

Your biggest exposure is the inflated savings claim. A salesperson can quite legally tell you that you'll "save $3,500 a year" by quietly assuming 90% self-consumption (unrealistic for most homes without a battery) and the highest buy-back rate on the market. Insist on seeing the assumptions behind any savings figure. If they can't show you the kWh-per-year generation number for your specific roof and the assumed self-consumption percentage, the savings claim is essentially fiction.

If you're the Tech-Savvy Optimiser

Your biggest exposure is swapped components. You agreed to a Fronius Primo with a BYD battery; what shows up on install day is a generic Chinese inverter and a battery with no clear MPP listing. Your quote and your contract must specify the exact brand and model, and the contract should explicitly state that substitutions require your written approval at no extra cost. Take photos of the actual equipment serial numbers on the day of install, and cross-check them against the warranty registration.

If you're the Eco-Conscious Family

Your biggest exposure is greenwashing. "Eco" branding does not guarantee ethical panel sourcing or LiFePO4 battery chemistry. Ask specifically: what cell chemistry is in the battery (LiFePO4 is your friend for safety and cycle life), and does the panel manufacturer have a traceable supply chain. Be wary of any company that won't answer these questions in writing.

The "Free Solar" Lie

If anyone tells you solar is "free" in New Zealand, they are misleading you. There is no national household solar subsidy that makes residential PV free. Some lease-to-own and power-purchase agreement (PPA) models advertise themselves as "free solar", but in those structures you are paying for the energy over 15-25 years through a contracted tariff, and you do not own the system.

This is not automatically a bad deal, but it is absolutely not free. The collapse of one major NZ provider in this space in 2024 left thousands of households scrambling to understand who owned the panels on their roof and what would happen to their contracts. The lesson: read the fine print on ownership, end-of-contract terms, and what happens if the company goes bust.

What to Say to a High-Pressure Salesperson

You do not owe a stranger in your living room a sale. Here are three lines that will end a pressure pitch politely and effectively:

• "Thanks for coming. We have a policy of getting three quotes and sleeping on it. Please leave your written quote, and we'll be in touch in two weeks if we want to proceed."
• "I'm not signing finance documents tonight. If the price is only available tonight, that's our cue to look elsewhere."
• "Can you put that savings claim in writing with the assumed export rate and self-consumption percentage? Thanks."

If they push back on any of these, they have just told you everything you need to know about their company. Show them the door warmly, no need to be rude, and you have just saved yourself somewhere between $5,000 and $25,000.

Your Legal Protections

You are not on your own here. New Zealand has solid consumer protections that apply directly to solar sales:

• Fair Trading Act 1986: prohibits misleading and deceptive conduct. False savings claims, fake "approved installer" badges, and pressure tactics that misrepresent urgency can all be reported to the Commerce Commission.
• Consumer Guarantees Act 1993: gives you statutory rights to goods of acceptable quality and services performed with reasonable care and skill. Workmanship issues are covered here regardless of what the installer's contract says.
• Door to Door Sales Act / "Uninvited Direct Sales" provisions of the Fair Trading Act: you have a 5 working day cooling-off period for contracts over $100 entered into during an uninvited direct sale (which includes door knocks and unsolicited home visits). You can cancel in writing within those 5 days, no penalty.
• Privacy Act 2020: protects how your data can be used by sales operations. See our note on how we handle data under the Privacy Act for context on what good practice looks like.

The Commerce Commission has used the Fair Trading Act multiple times to take action against solar sales companies for misleading conduct. Reporting dodgy behaviour to them is genuinely useful, both for you and for the next household those salespeople knock on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is door-to-door solar selling legal in New Zealand?

Yes, it is legal, but it triggers the uninvited direct sales provisions of the Fair Trading Act, which means you have a 5 working day cooling-off period to cancel any contract signed during such a visit. The salesperson must give you specific written disclosure about your cancellation right. If they don't, the contract may be unenforceable.

How do I check if a solar installer is registered?

The installer's electrical worker must be registered with the Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB). Go to ewrb.govt.nz, click "Public Register", and search by name or registration number. The quote should give you the name of the registered electrical worker performing the work.

What is a reasonable deposit for a solar system in NZ?

Industry norms are 10-20% on signing, with the balance on commissioning. Anything above 30% is unusual and worth questioning. Never pay 100% upfront before equipment is on site.

Are "today-only" solar discounts ever real?

Almost never. The price of panels, inverters and batteries does not change overnight. "Today only" pricing is a sales technique designed to prevent you from getting comparison quotes. A reputable installer will honour a written quote for at least 14-30 days.

How can I tell if a solar savings claim is realistic?

Ask for the underlying numbers: kWh generated per year, assumed self-consumption percentage, assumed export buy-back rate (and which retailer), and your current annual consumption. Without those four numbers, a savings claim is just a vibe. Cross-check with our Solar ROI Calculator.

What should I do if I've already signed something I regret?

If you signed during an uninvited direct sale (door knock, mall booth, unsolicited home visit) within the last 5 working days, you can cancel in writing under the Fair Trading Act. If it's outside that window, check the contract for any cooling-off clause, then contact Consumer NZ or the Citizens Advice Bureau for guidance. The Commerce Commission accepts complaints about misleading sales conduct.

Is solar leasing or a power-purchase agreement (PPA) a scam?

Not inherently, but these structures are often marketed as "free solar" which is misleading. You're paying for the energy over a long contract. Always read the ownership terms, the end-of-contract terms, the escalation clauses, and what happens if the provider goes out of business. Several NZ providers in this space have failed, leaving customers with complex legacy contracts.

How many quotes should I get?

Three is the standard advice, and it works. Three quotes give you a real sense of market pricing, hardware options, and which installer communicates clearly. Our free quote-matching service connects you with three vetted installers without selling your details.

Does NZ Solar Centre vet installers?

Yes. We run a 13-step vetting process covering EWRB registration, SEANZ membership, Companies Office history, customer references, warranty terms, and complaints history. See our 13-Step Installer Vetting Process for the full method.

Where to Go From Here

Solar is one of the best long-term investments a NZ homeowner can make, when it is done right. The industry has its share of dodgy operators, and the best protection is knowledge: three quotes, an EWRB check, a SEANZ check, a clear written specification, and zero pressure to sign anything on the first visit.

If you want the verification done for you, start with our Trust Proxy promise to understand our independence, then look at our vetting process. If you'd like to know what a fair price actually looks like for your home before any salesperson walks through the door, run the numbers in our Solar ROI Calculator and check our notes on the Consumer Data Right for energy to see where the industry is heading on transparency.