Solar in Satara, answered.

Around Rs 55,000 per kW of installed capacity before subsidy, so a 3 kW system for a typical Satara home works out near Rs 1,65,000 before the PM Surya Ghar subsidy is applied. The final figure moves with your roof type, the mounting structure it needs and the inverter you end up on, which is why we survey before we quote rather than after.

Residential rooftop systems qualify for a central-government subsidy that is tiered by system size, with a cap once you go past a few kilowatts. The rates are set nationally and have been revised more than once, so we confirm what applies to your roof at the survey instead of publishing a number here that may be stale by the time you read it. We file the application, the net-metering paperwork and the DISCOM co-ordination as part of the job.

Roughly 300 square feet of unshaded roof, working on about 100 square feet per kW. Shading matters more than raw area: a smaller clear roof beats a larger one with a water tank or a neighbouring wall throwing shadow across it for part of the day, which is exactly what we check during the survey.

All three. RCC gives the best output for a given area and tiled the least, with metal sheet in between, because of how the mounting structure sits and the angle it can achieve. The difference is built into the estimate rather than discovered afterwards.

Yes, and it is not billed separately. Net metering is what lets your meter run backwards when the system generates more than the house is using, and it is the step that takes longest because it sits with the DISCOM rather than with us. We file it and follow it up.

For most homes a correctly sized system covers the large majority of daytime consumption, but the honest answer is that it depends on your tariff, your shading and which way your roof faces. The calculator gives an illustrative figure from your current bill; a site visit gives one you can rely on.

Satara city is home ground, and we work regularly in Karad, Wai and Phaltan along with the villages in between. If your town is not one of those, ask anyway - most of the district is within reach, and we would rather say no on the phone than have you assume it.

Panels need washing every few weeks in the dry season, more often if you are near a road that throws up dust, and an occasional check that the mounting and wiring are sound. There are no moving parts. We are based in Satara, so when something does need attention we are half an hour away rather than a scheduled trip from another city.