Solar installation looks mysterious from the street, but the sequence is fairly predictable once you know what each stage involves. Knowing the order helps you spot when something is skipped, and it keeps you from wondering why the panels have been on the roof for three weeks without being switched on. This article is part of our installation and installers hub, which also covers how to pick a company and what permits apply.
Stage 1: quotes and site visit
Before anything is signed, a good installer visits your home or, at minimum, studies satellite imagery and your bills. They look at roof area, pitch, shade, the age of the shingles, and the electrical panel. Our roof suitability checklist lets you do a rough version of this yourself so you can judge their feedback.
Collect more than one quote, and compare them on the same basis, as described in our guide to choosing a solar installer. Check licences and certification marks at this point, not after the deposit has been paid.
Stage 2: design and contract
Once you choose a company, the design is refined: panel layout, string or microinverter arrangement, wiring route, where the inverter will sit, and whether the main panel needs an upgrade. You should receive a drawing or layout, an estimated yearly production figure, a price, a payment schedule and warranty details. Read what happens if the roof needs repair later, and who pays to remove and reinstall panels in that case.
If you want a battery, now is the time to say so. A later retrofit costs more and takes another visit.
Stage 3: permits and utility application
Most projects need a building or electrical permit, and the grid connection needs the utility’s agreement. Rules and forms differ by municipality and province. The installer normally handles the paperwork, but confirm it, because it is a common place for confusion. Details are in our guide to solar permits and inspections, and the utility side is explained in the solar interconnection process.
This stage often takes the longest. Permit offices and utilities can have queues of weeks, and incomplete applications get sent back. A realistic expectation is that your wait is measured in weeks, sometimes more.
Stage 4: equipment delivery and scheduling
Once permits are in, equipment is ordered or delivered and a crew is scheduled. Weather matters in Canada. Rain, ice and strong wind can delay rooftop work, and winter installs are possible but slower. Snow on the roof has to be cleared safely, which crews often manage better than you could.
Stage 5: installation day
A typical residential install on a straightforward roof takes one to three days. In rough order:
- The crew sets up fall protection and safe roof access.
- Mounting hardware is attached to the roof structure and sealed to keep water out.
- Rails and panels go on, then the wiring between them.
- Inverters or microinverters are installed, plus a rapid shutdown arrangement as required by the electrical code.
- Conduit and cabling are run to the electrical panel, often through a basement or garage, and a disconnect is installed where required.
- The system is tested, but typically not energised for export yet.
You may hear drilling and see a mess in the driveway. A tidy crew cleans up each day. If the install includes a battery, expect extra wiring and perhaps a separate backup panel.
Stage 6: inspection
An electrical inspector, and sometimes a building inspector, checks that the work matches the permit and the code. They look at wiring, grounding, labelling, disconnects and rapid shutdown. If something fails, the installer fixes it and the inspector returns. This is normal. A failed first inspection is not a disaster, though a pattern of failures tells you something about the contractor.
Stage 7: utility approval and permission to operate
After inspection the utility reviews the paperwork. It may swap your meter for one that records both import and export, and it will send written permission to operate. Do not switch on before this arrives, because running ahead of approval can breach your connection agreement and create safety concerns for the utility’s crews.
Once approved, the installer commissions the system, sets up monitoring, and shows you how to read it. Ask for the manuals, warranty papers, single-line diagram and permit copies in one folder.
Stage 8: after switch-on
Your first bills will show how the system performs against the estimate. Output varies by season, and a kW of solar in southern Canada commonly produces roughly 1,100 to 1,400 kWh a year, so judge over months, not days. Keep the monitoring app open for the first few weeks to spot problems early, and set a reminder for the routine checks in our maintenance checklist.
Timeline at a glance
Many projects run from signed contract to switch-on in somewhere between about six weeks and a few months, though busy seasons and slow utilities can stretch that. If an installer promises a date, ask which parts depend on the permit office and the utility, because those are the stages no contractor fully controls.
Quick answers
How long does a solar installation take?
Panels can often go up in one to three days, but the whole process from signed contract to permission to operate commonly takes several weeks to a few months. Permit offices and utilities set much of the schedule.
Do I need to be home on installation day?
Usually someone should be available for access to the electrical panel and to answer questions, though you do not need to watch the roof work. Ask the installer what access they need.
Can I turn the system on myself after it is installed?
No. It normally needs a passed electrical inspection and the utility's approval, which can include a meter change. Running it early may breach your interconnection agreement.
Where to verify
Rules and prices change. Confirm current details with the official bodies below.