The answer
Why are installer quotes difficult to compare?
Give every installer the same description of your building and what you want to improve. Ask each one to show what the price includes and leaves out, then record why your group chose its preferred proposal.
01 / 03
Write one brief all suppliers can understand
Give each installer the same building address, bills, booking pattern, present heating and the problem your group wants to solve. Include existing advice and any limits on access or work during activities. If a survey finds that a heat pump, solar array or insulation measure is worth pricing, describe the intended outcome and ask every supplier to state what design work it has and has not done.
Local Energy Scotland provides sample quotation-request wording and recommends asking for a turnkey installation that covers permissions, scaffolding, grid connection, equipment and fitting. A brief based only on the desired equipment list can miss work essential to make the system function in the building.
02 / 03
Make the prices genuinely comparable
Put the quotations in a table. Compare system capacity and expected output, any radiator or hot-water work, electrical changes, roof access, permissions, commissioning, warranties, programme, VAT and exclusions. If one price includes scaffold and another says 'access by client', the totals are not for the same job. Ask for missing items to be priced or clearly marked as provisional.
Do not let a fundable headline hide unfunded refurbishment. If the roof needs repair before panels or a floor must be replaced around underfloor heating, record who pays for that work. Ask who will submit network or planning paperwork and what happens if the response changes the design.
03 / 03
Record a decision your committee can defend
A lower price can be a good choice when the scope and support are genuinely comparable. A dearer price may be justified by a better design or fewer exclusions. Record the reason for the choice, the documents reviewed and any conflict of interest. Keep the unsuccessful quotations and correspondence so the group can answer funder questions later.
FLO can supply a survey and its own technical quote; it does not decide the CARES award. Treat its proposal as one option to test against the same brief and the current Local Energy Scotland requirements. Do not sign a grant-dependent order before the written offer allows it.
Where this guidance comes from
Check the original guidance.
These primary sources support the technical or scheme points above. Rules can change; follow the current source before making a commitment.
Apply this to your property
Get the building brief right first.
FLO's free survey can clarify what work the building needs and provide a written technical scope to inform the CARES quotation process.