Solar cost and payback calculator
Tell me your ZIP and your average monthly electric bill. I'll size a system for your home, price it with current quotes in your area and show payback without the expired federal credit. Works for any US ZIP.
Your solar estimate
An estimate, not a quote: system size comes from your bill, production from NREL for your ZIP. No federal credit, rate increases, panel degradation or financing. How I calculate.
Already have a quote? Check it
For ZIP codes in the cities I cover, compare an installer's price per watt with local quotes and your utility's own rates.
Your estimate
Export credit is empty, so power sent to the grid counts as $0 — a lower bound.
No federal tax credit, no rate increases, panel degradation, financing or maintenance. If a quote subtracts a 30% federal credit, ask for a price without it (why). Full method.
Installers can still quote your home
I haven't finished the payback numbers for this ZIP yet. Request quotes now and compare the prices you get with the six-step quote check.
Areas covered
- Phoenix, AZ — 57 ZIP codes within 12.8 miles of the center
- Tucson, AZ — 20 ZIP codes within 8.8 miles of the center
- San Antonio, TX — 48 ZIP codes within 12.6 miles of the center
- Austin, TX — 32 ZIP codes within 10.2 miles of the center
- San Diego, CA — 41 ZIP codes within 10.2 miles of the center
- Fresno, CA — 17 ZIP codes within 6.1 miles of the center
How the checker works
- Production: NREL PVWatts for the area center, fixed south-facing roof at 20°.
- Energy charge: median of current standard residential plans of your utility in the OpenEI Utility Rate Database.
- Export credit: the utility's tariff, checked by hand. Where the utility has no single rate, you enter it.
- Payback = (quote price − state tax credit) ÷ yearly savings.
Before signing, go through the six-step quote check.