Solar Panel Cost and Savings Calculator

Updated: November 5, 2021

Using only your zip code and utility company, our solar calculator will provide you with an accurate solar savings analysis.

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System and Savings Details

Number of solar panels needed

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This assumes 370 W panels

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Recommended system size

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Payback period

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Payback period is the time it takes to achieve a positive cashflow (i.e. you make your money back). With a loan your payback period will be instant as there is no out of pocket expense unless your down payment exceeds upfront incentives.

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25 year net savings

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This is all savings and incentive value minus the cost of the system.

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Savings from incentives & tax credits

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NPV

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Net present value (NPV) is the relative value of expected future returns, compared to an investment with a known rate of return. NPV is expressed as positive or negative dollar amount, adjusted for inflation.

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IRR

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Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is a way to look at the potential annual returns from an investment and compare them to other investment returns

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Monthly Electric Bill Comparison

Solar Generation and Usage

Your current Annual Electric Use

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Energy Production from Solar System

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Battery Backup Details

Battery scenarios

Select an approach to sizing your home battery system

Size to store surplus solar energy generated during the day (Most economic option)

Adjust solar system size and battery storage capacity to cover overnight electric on a typical day

Run certain appliances for a specific amount of time during grid failure (Redundancy adds expense)

Don't include a battery system in this analysis

Your daily solar generation and usage
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Excess solar generation available to battery

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Average night time electricity usage

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Suggested home battery storage

Suggested size of battery bank

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Suggested home battery storage option Change

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Single battery size

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Batteries needed

Your solar generation never exceeds your usage throughout the day. Therefore, a battery system is not recommended.

Specify your backup requirements

Set backup hours for typical appliances

Show custom appliance

Backup details for additional appliance Hide

Battery system results

Battery model Change

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Total battery capacity

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Batteries needed

Maximum instantaneous power draw

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Minimum backup hours

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You typically cannot have more than 6 of these batteries in the same system. We have limited your backup hours to reflect the battery limit. However, we are assuming that you will be using all selected appliances continuously. In all likelihood your backup hours will be significantly higher than this estimate.

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You haven't specified any appliances to be backed up. Therefore, a battery system is not recommended.

Your solar system does not include a battery.

Cost to charge your EV

Without Home Solar

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We assume 14,000 miles driven per year, gas cost of $3.15 / gallon, and are comparing a Hyundai Kona vs Hyundai Kona EV.

${{ costPerMile.noSolarEv }} per mile

About ${{ savings.noSolarEv }} saved in first year

With Home Solar

${{ costPerMile.solarEv }} per mile

About ${{ savings.solarEv }} saved in first year
Adjust Hide Assumptions

Assumptions

Savings
Cost

Use median cost of local system prices

or

Define my own system cost

${{ roundedNumberWithCommas(costPerWatt * systemSizeInKw * 1000) }}
Financing

Select your payment option

Loan

Cash
Zip Code

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Monthly Bill

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Roof Direction

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Roof Pitch

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Reset

Compare Local Prices

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{{ loanOption ? 'Range of monthly loan payment for battery system' : 'Battery cost range' }}

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Solar companies available nearby

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SolarReviews’ Pre-Screened Solar Pros

SolarReviews has a network of over 700 pre-screened solar pros who will provide an exact price for the system your home needs. They are among the highest-rated solar companies in America. Most are local and family-owned, offering much better customer service than large national solar companies.

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Zillow estimates that installing solar panels on your home will add 4.0% to the value of your home

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