Use this guide
Choose the questions relevant to your situation. Expand each answer, save the checklist and request written clarification where evidence is missing.
Questions homeowners ask
Does this guide apply to every Illinois home?
No. Confirm the electric delivery utility for your address and the municipality or other permit authority. This guide concerns ComEd customers, including households researching solar in the Chicago area. A mailing city or electricity supplier’s name alone does not establish the relevant utility process. Other Illinois utilities may use different requirements.
Which approvals should I track before installation?
ComEd’s brochure directs customers to check municipal approvals and submit an interconnection application with supporting documents and fees. It places installation after approval of that application. Keep municipal and utility records separately.
Source: ComEd: rooftop solar connection brochure, 2025 edition. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Is application approval the same as operating authorization?
No. ComEd’s brochure says operation follows a signed Certificate of Completion from ComEd confirming installation and required municipal approvals. Request the actual final authorization record; a submission receipt or earlier application approval does not document that milestone.
Source: ComEd: rooftop solar connection brochure, 2025 edition. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Do I always need a separate net-metering application?
ComEd’s brochure says its interconnection application includes net metering and a separate application is typically unnecessary. Confirm actual enrollment and billing arrangements with ComEd and your supplier, particularly when changing suppliers.
Source: ComEd: rooftop solar connection brochure, 2025 edition. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Does the utility meter show all the electricity my panels produced?
No. ComEd distinguishes the smart meter’s grid imports and exports from total panel production. Compare production records and utility measurements over matching periods rather than expecting the two numbers to be identical.
Source: ComEd: rooftop solar connection brochure, 2025 edition. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Can a new system use an older full-retail-credit savings model?
Illinois Shines says full retail rate net metering is unavailable for new residential and small-commercial systems interconnecting from January 1, 2025. Under supply-only net metering, delivery charges apply to all electricity pulled from the grid. Ask the proposal to identify your actual rate and credit treatment.
Source: Illinois Shines: consumer net-metering FAQs, January 2026 updates. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
What should an existing customer check before changing equipment?
Illinois Shines says changes requiring a new ComEd interconnection application can affect an existing full-retail net-metering arrangement. Ask ComEd to confirm the proposed modification’s effect before relying on the old billing treatment.
Source: Illinois Shines: consumer net-metering FAQs, January 2026 updates. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Could accepting a rebate change an older system’s credits?
Illinois Shines warns that taking the generation DG/Smart Inverter rebate for a pre-2025 full-retail system changes it to supply-only net metering; returning the rebate does not restore the former arrangement. Generation and storage rebates have distinct conditions. Confirm the actual offer and consequences before electing it.
Source: Illinois Shines: consumer net-metering FAQs, January 2026 updates. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
What should I ask when an installer promises a date or a zero bill?
Request a written milestone schedule and a bill model that separates supply, delivery, customer charges, fees and financing payments. Mark estimates and unresolved approvals clearly. Ask who responds to corrections or delays. Neither this guide nor a projected annual production figure guarantees an approval date, no remaining utility charges or a particular financial outcome.
Where does Solar Survey AI fit?
Ask our team to confirm available homeowner site-assessment scope, qualifications, conflicts and limitations. Evidence about roof, shade and accessible site conditions can help test proposal assumptions within that scope. A survey does not grant ComEd authorization, issue municipal permits, award rebates or decide your tariff. Third-party status alone does not prove independence.
Your decision checklist
- Confirm the delivery utility, supplier and permit authority.
- Request the submitted configuration and application record.
- Keep municipal permits and utility approval separately.
- Retain the actual signed completion or operating authorization.
- Confirm net-metering enrollment and the responsible billing party.
- Separate total generation from grid import and export.
- Verify the actual billing treatment before changing equipment or taking a rebate.
- Ask for a scoped assessment and document unresolved assumptions.
Save or print this guide from your browser. Keep completed records privately.
Keep approval and billing evidence together
| Record | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Utility and supplier | Who delivers electricity, supplies energy and handles credits? |
| Municipal record | What approvals apply, and which corrections remain? |
| Interconnection | Which installed configuration was submitted and approved? |
| Operation | Where is the actual final authorization record? |
| Billing | Which credit treatment and remaining charges apply? |
| Proposed change | Would new equipment or a rebate alter the present arrangement? |
Hypothetical example: an app reports 700 kWh generated, with 450 kWh used directly in the home and 250 kWh exported. The utility export reading would not equal all 700 kWh of generation. This simplified arithmetic illustrates separate measurements, not a real account, savings forecast or utility billing calculation.
Example: an older system owner receives a proposal that applies a generation rebate while preserving the existing full-retail credits in its savings model. Ask the utility and provider to reconcile those assumptions in writing before accepting the offer. Keep an unanswered question unresolved rather than choosing the more favorable figure.
Read electricity bills and export credits, approval responsibilities and independent assessment questions. See our Chicago site-survey guide and evidence methodology; confirm service scope before booking.
Continue your research
About these guides
Published by Solar Survey AI, a commercial survey-services company. Our original decision checklists are recommendations; linked authorities support the referenced facts. We may benefit if you purchase our services. This is not independent certification of our company, a project-specific engineering decision or personal tax/legal advice. Local rules, contracts and site evidence control individual decisions. Reviewed 2026-10-06.
For available survey or inspection services, confirm your project scope and availability with our team. Our planned free homeowner remote diagnosis remains coming soon.
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