Solar installer websites: qualifying leads before the site visit
Short answer: A solar quote form should collect just enough to decide whether a site visit is worth the drive: a verified address, who owns the roof, what the household uses and when, and a photo of a recent bill or the switchboard. Ask the questions in an order that feels like a conversation, not a tax form, and route each answer pattern to a different next step. Satellite roof data can fill gaps before you visit, but it supports the questions rather than replacing them.
Why the form matters more than the ad
Paid lead lists and comparison sites send installers people who are often shopping several quotes at once. Leads from your own website are warmer, but only if the form filters out the renters, the out-of-area addresses and the "just curious" before your estimator spends a morning on the road. The aim is not fewer leads; it's knowing which ones deserve a call within the hour.
The form, question by question
Q1. "What's the address of the property?"
Start with the address, because it decides everything else: service area, roof data, travel time. Use autocomplete so the address arrives clean. Google's Places API (New) offers Autocomplete, which returns place and address predictions as the person types and can be limited by region, for example with the includedRegionCodes parameter set to Australia.
Routing: outside your service area → a polite page explaining you don't cover that region, and no lead in your pipeline.
Q2. "Do you own the home?" (Yes / No, I rent / It's a business property)
Renters may still be worth a conversation (some landlords say yes), but they belong on a different track.
Routing: "I rent" → short follow-up asking whether the owner is involved, then a nurture email rather than a site-visit booking.
Q3. "What are you interested in?" (Solar panels / Battery / Both / Adding to an existing system / Not sure)
This single question separates new installs from battery add-ons and system upgrades, which often go to different staff.
Q4. "Roughly what's your quarterly power bill?" (bands)
Use ranges, not a free number field. Bands are faster to answer on a phone and good enough for a first sizing conversation. Add an "I'd rather upload my bill" option.
Q5. "When do you use most of your power?" (Mostly daytime / Mostly evening / Fairly even / Don't know)
Daytime-heavy households and evening-heavy households need different conversations, especially about batteries. "Don't know" is a valid answer; it tells your estimator what to explain.
Q6. "What's the roof made of, and roughly how many storeys?"
Show small pictures: tin, tile, flat. Most people can't name their roof type but can recognise it. Storeys matter for access and safety equipment.
Q7. "Any shade on the roof?" (None / Some trees / Lots / Not sure)
Self-reported shade is unreliable, which is where roof data helps (see below). Ask anyway: it shows what the customer believes, and that's what your proposal must address.
Q8. "Upload a photo of your latest bill and your switchboard" (optional)
Optional uploads keep the form short for people on the fence, while giving keen buyers a way to speed things up. Accept phone photos and PDFs, and say what you'll use them for.
Q9. "When are you hoping to have this done?" (In the next month / 1–3 months / Just researching)
Timing is your best urgency signal and the cleanest routing key.
Q10. Contact details and preferred contact method
Name, mobile, email, and "best time to call". Put this last: by now the person has invested in the form and is more likely to finish it.
Adding roof data from satellite and aerial imagery
Google Maps Platform's Solar API returns building insights for an address: location, roof dimensions and solar potential, including fields such as the maximum number of panels that fit, roof segment statistics and sunshine hours. A separate data layers endpoint provides imagery, a surface model, flux maps and hourly shade.
Two things to know before building it in, as of November 2026:
- Coverage and quality vary. Google lists imagery quality as HIGH (0.1 m per pixel aerial), MEDIUM or BASE, and its coverage page warns you may get a 404 in some areas even where coverage appears on the map. If no imagery meets the quality you request, the API returns an error. Check the coverage map for your service area first.
- It's a pre-check, not a design. Use it internally to flag "probably fits 15+ panels" or "heavy shading likely" for the estimator, rather than showing a customer a confident system size before anyone has seen the roof.
Showing customers an instant estimate is a separate decision. If you do, label it clearly as indicative and keep the human follow-up promise front and centre.
Routing: what happens after "Submit"
| Answer pattern | Next step | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Owner, in area, next month or 1–3 months | Offer a site-visit time on the confirmation screen | Estimator calendar |
| Owner, in area, just researching | Email with a plain-English guide and a "ready to talk?" link a week later | Automated |
| Battery or existing system | Route to the battery/upgrade specialist, ask for system details | Specialist |
| Renter | Landlord-friendly info and contact kept on file | Automated |
| Business property | Commercial team, phone call within one business day | Sales |
| Out of area | Polite decline page, no lead created | None |
Every lead should land in one place (your CRM or job app), tagged with these answers, and trigger an SMS within minutes saying who will call and when. Leads that wait until tomorrow are the ones that sign with whoever called first.
FAQ
Won't ten questions scare people off?
Not if each screen asks one easy thing and shows progress. Ask what you'll actually use; anything you don't route on or quote from is a candidate for deletion.
Should I ask for the bill upload as required?
Keep it optional. Required uploads stop people who are filling in the form on the couch without the bill in front of them.
Can satellite data replace the site visit?
For a first estimate, it can reduce guesswork. For the final design and quote, your installer still needs to see the roof, the switchboard and the access.
How quickly should a qualified lead be contacted?
As fast as your team can manage during business hours. An instant confirmation message with a named person and a time window buys you breathing room.
If you'd like a quote form that sorts serious buyers from browsers before anyone gets in the ute, tell us how leads reach you now.