Home solar guides

Straight answers to the questions people ask before buying solar, with numbers from utility tariffs, NREL and current quotes.

Average price per watt by state and city, and what a 5, 7 or 10 kW system costs before incentives.

Payback without the federal credit in the cities I cover, and when solar is a weak deal.

Yearly and monthly savings by utility, and why they change from month to month.

Size a system from your electric use and local sunshine, in four steps.

Nine downsides to weigh before you sign, with numbers from real tariffs.

Daily, monthly and yearly output per kW and per 400 W panel, city by city.

How each utility credits the power you send to the grid, and what it does to savings.

Cash, loan, lease or PPA: who owns the panels, who gets the credits, and what escalators cost.

How much output drops by season in each city, and what happens after dark or in an outage.

South, east, west or north: how much each roof direction makes in each city.

Six numbers to verify before you sign.

What ended and which state rules still apply.