Transparency
How we rank — and why nobody pays for placement
RainbowHome ranks solar installers on five objective signals — price (30%), verified rating (25%), warranty (15%), track record (15%) and credentials (15%) — and money can never change a rank. The weights below are read from the same code that computes every ranking on this site, so this page can't say one thing while the product does another.
The five signals, with their exact weights
Price per kW
30%The midpoint of the installer's published price band, compared against the other installers shown for your state. Lower is better.
Verified rating
25%Average review score, dampened by review volume — a single 5★ review can't beat a proven 4.3★ from a hundred customers.
Warranty
15%Panel warranty plus inverter warranty, in years. Longer is better.
Track record
15%Completed installations, log-scaled — so 12,000 installs beats 6,000, but not by enough to drown out price and rating.
Credentials
15%MNRE empanelment (verified by us against the official list before the badge appears, never self-declared), plus BIS/UL certifications.
Each signal is normalised against the other installers shown for your state, weighted as above, and summed. The highest total is the “Our pick” — and the card always shows the objective reasons it won, so you can check our working.
What can never move a ranking
- Paying us money — there is no way to buy a position, and no 'premium tier' in the score.
- Buying leads — installers who buy leads from us are scored identically to those who don't.
- Being a founding partner — the badge is a label, not a ranking input.
- Advertising — we run none from installers.
- Placeholder or seed listings — they can never outrank a real, verified partner.
If we ever sell visibility, it will be a clearly labelled slot — never a change in the ranking itself. And because we never install, we have no house brand to favour.
Common questions
Can an installer pay RainbowHome to rank higher?
No. The ranking is a fixed, published weighting of five objective signals — price, verified rating, warranty, track record, and credentials. There is no commercial input in the score, and the weights on this page are rendered from the same code that computes every rank.
How is the 'Our pick' recommendation chosen?
Every installer shown for your state is scored on the five public signals and the highest score wins. The card always lists the objective reasons the pick won — for example lowest price per kW or longest warranty — so you can check our working.
What does the MNRE-empanelled badge mean?
It means we verified the installer against the official MNRE empanelment list before showing the badge. Self-declared claims don't get the badge, and unverified installers score zero on that signal.
Does RainbowHome install solar systems itself?
No. RainbowHome is an independent comparison layer — we never install, so we have no reason to steer you to any particular vendor. We earn by connecting you to installers you choose to hear from, with your consent.
Want the estimate math too? Every formula and assumption behind the calculator is published at /methodology. Installers: being ranked is free and always will be — apply to be listed.