Before paying a deposit for solar panels in Ireland, check more than the price and promised savings. Establish who will sign your contract, check the relevant SEAI registration, review the legal business and agree what happens if installation or grant paperwork is delayed. These are different checks: a company can exist on the CRO register without being registered for your grant scheme, and registration alone does not guarantee the work.
Direct answer
Find the contractor on SEAI's Solar PV Companies list, verify the legal name behind the quote and search its CRO number if it is a company. Match the contractor to your grant offer, obtain a written contract and independently confirm payment details before sending a deposit. Keep grant eligibility, business identity and installation quality as separate questions.
SEAI registration and CRO registration: what each tells you
SEAI's solar company directory is the starting point for checking participation in the relevant solar PV scheme. CRO CORE is the official source for an incorporated Irish company's registration. Businesses.ie can help you locate the matching company and review its available public information. Neither a CRO record nor a commercial company report replaces SEAI's scheme-specific check.
| Check | Where to look | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Scheme registration | SEAI Solar PV Companies directory | A guarantee of workmanship or your grant payment |
| Legal company identity | CRO CORE and the company profile | Technical competence or electrical certification |
| Company versus installer role | SEAI scheme guidance and the written scope | That the sales representative performs the installation |
| Project suitability | A site-specific design and explained assumptions | A universal savings figure for every home |
| Payment and warranty terms | Your signed contract and warranty documents | That an unrelated group company owes the warranty |
1. Find the company on SEAI's current solar PV list
Open the SEAI Solar PV Companies directory yourself. Search the company or trading name and use the appropriate domestic or non-domestic category. Record the listing, contact details and date checked. If the name on the quote differs, ask the contractor to explain the relationship before you treat the listing as a match.
Do not confuse the directory's scheme registration number with a CRO company number. Ask for both identifiers where relevant and label them separately. SEAI expressly says it does not approve, guarantee or warranty a company or its work. Its directory also recommends comparing quotes, investigating references and having a written contract. A logo on a brochure is not a substitute for checking the live listing.
2. Identify the legal business taking your deposit
Request the full legal name, company number if incorporated, business address and contact details. Search the number using Businesses.ie company search and compare the result with the contract. A brand may belong to a company with a different name. Read our legal-name versus trading-name guide if the relationship is unclear.
Not every contractor is a limited company. A sole trader will not have an incorporated-company record simply because they operate a registered business name. Establish the actual contracting party rather than declaring a business illegitimate because a company-name search is empty. Where a limited company is claimed, verify that claim and the precise CRO number independently.
3. Match the grant offer to the contractor before work starts
SEAI's domestic solar guidance says to apply and wait for the Letter of Offer before starting works, and to check that the installation company matches the one named in the offer. If the company changes, follow SEAI's current instructions before work begins. Do not assume the grant follows any replacement contractor automatically.
Check the offer and scheme rules directly for your property and proposed system. This guide intentionally does not quote a grant amount or use an old promotion as an eligibility test. Ask who submits the required completion documents, which steps you must arrange yourself and what happens if paperwork is incomplete. A salesperson's verbal assurance is not the same as an approved application.
4. Understand who installs, certifies and handles the paperwork
SEAI distinguishes the registered company contracting with the applicant from the registered installer who completes the Declaration of Works. Ask who will carry out each part of your installation and who remains responsible if subcontractors are used. Your contract should identify the accountable business, not leave you to work out which person owns a problem after payment.
Request a handover checklist based on the current scheme guidance. It should cover the required certification and grid-connection paperwork, warranty documents and system instructions relevant to your installation. SEAI lists completion evidence including a Declaration of Works and electrical certification. Technical safety and certification must be handled by the appropriate qualified professionals; a company report does not assess roof, electrical or battery safety.
5. Review the available company history in context
For an incorporated installer, check status, incorporation date and available recent filings. Where the deposit or contract value is material, review available accounts and their dates. This can help frame questions about continuity, but it does not show today's bank balance, the installer's current order book or whether your equipment is in stock.
A newly formed company is not automatically unsuitable, and an older company is not automatically financially secure. Missing information should prompt clarification, not invented figures. Use our guide to limited public accounts and ask for evidence proportionate to your exposure. Confirm whether the quoted warranty is owed by the installer, manufacturer or another named party.
6. Compare quotes on scope, not just the headline total
Ask each shortlisted business to price the same scope: panel and inverter specification, optional battery, installation work, access requirements, documentation and aftercare. Request the assumptions behind projected generation and savings for your home. Roof orientation, shading, usage patterns and the proposed design need a site-specific explanation.
Record exclusions and possible extra charges. A cheaper quote that leaves important work unspecified is not directly comparable with a fully described installation. Our supplier-comparison guide helps align company evidence, but the technical comparison should be reviewed by someone competent to assess the proposed system.
7. Put deposit, delay and warranty terms in writing
Establish the deposit amount, balance-payment trigger, expected schedule and process for changes or delays. Ask what the deposit reserves and what the contract says about cancellation or refund; do not assume every deposit is either fully refundable or automatically lost. Consumer rights and the specific circumstances matter. Resolve unclear terms before transferring money, not after installation has been postponed.
Independently verify beneficiary details, particularly after a bank account changes. Contact the company through a number obtained separately from the payment email. Read our invoice-payment checks for that workflow. Keep your quote, contract, grant offer, payment evidence and promised warranty in one project file.
A practical example: the brand matches, but the contract does not
Imagine a fictional homeowner finds a solar brand on the SEAI list, but the deposit invoice names a different limited company. That discrepancy is not proof of wrongdoing. It is a reason to pause and ask which company contracts, which scheme listing applies and whether the grant offer names the correct provider. Check the explanation with independent records before accepting it.
The useful outcome is a documented match between the quote, legal business, applicable registration and grant offer. It is not a blanket “safe installer” badge. If identity, paperwork responsibilities or payment instructions remain unresolved, obtain advice before making a material commitment.
Sources and editorial review
Reviewed by the Businesses.ie Editorial Team on 2 October 2026. Sources: SEAI's solar PV company directory, company and installer roles and domestic solar grant guidance. The example is fictional and the research checklist is editorial guidance, not technical, grant or legal advice. See our editorial policy.