Solar Savings Calculator
What rooftop solar would actually save you — sized from your bill, priced at 2026 installed costs, and honest about the expired federal tax credit.
Estimate
| Your yearly usage (from the bill) | — |
| System size needed | — |
| Estimated installed cost | — |
| First-year savings | — |
| Simple payback | — |
| 25-year net savings (flat rates) | — |
Assumptions kept deliberately simple and visible: production stays constant (panels actually degrade ~0.25–0.5%/yr), electricity rates stay flat (they have mostly risen), full retail credit for exported power (true under 1:1 net metering; California NEM 3.0 and some other states credit exports at much less). No federal tax credit is applied — the residential credit (25D) expired December 31, 2025. State incentives, where they exist, improve these numbers.
How this is calculated
Yearly usage = bill × 12 ÷ rate. System size (kW) = usage × offset ÷ production factor. Installed cost = size × $/W. First-year savings = offset share of your yearly bill. Simple payback = cost ÷ yearly savings. The production factor bundles your local sun, panel orientation, and shading into one number — a real installer quote replaces it with a site-specific simulation.
The 2026 reality check
Most solar calculators online still assume the 30% federal tax credit. It's gone for purchased systems — Section 25D expired at the end of 2025 — which lengthened typical paybacks by several years overnight. What still helps: falling hardware prices (US average ≈ $2.58/W installed in 2026), state-level rebates and property-tax exemptions, net metering where preserved, and lease/PPA arrangements where the financing company claims the commercial-side credit (Section 48E) and shares part of it as lower payments. The result: solar in 2026 is a genuinely good deal in high-rate, high-sun states and a marginal one elsewhere — which is exactly what the calculator above will tell you.
FAQ
Is there still a federal solar tax credit in 2026?
Not for systems you buy — the 30% residential credit (Section 25D) expired December 31, 2025. Leased/PPA systems can still benefit indirectly via the commercial credit (48E). Many states kept their own rebates and net-metering programs.
Is solar still worth it without the credit?
It depends almost entirely on your rate and sun. At 30¢+/kWh, payback is often 6–10 years even without the credit; at 13¢/kWh with average sun it can exceed 15 years. That's why this calculator asks for your actual bill and state.
How many panels is that?
Divide the system size by ~0.4 kW per panel: a 6 kW system is roughly 15 modern panels, needing about 30 m² (330 ft²) of unshaded roof.
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