There can be solar tax credits and incentives available at the federal, state and local levels. The calculator above will show you the value of all incentives your home is eligible for.
Pennsylvania has had an up and down solar incentives picture for over the past decade. The state currently has a strong net metering policy, which is good for you as a prospective solar panel homeowner. That means you get credited at near retail rate electric prices for the solar power you create but can’t use!
Also, if you’re lucky enough to live in Philadelphia, you can access new $200-per-kilowatt home solar rebates. Philly plays host to 10% of the state’s population, so the rebates have a chance to make a real impact in the lives of people who want to go solar.
There is another strong incentive pending in the form of a requirement for utilities to ramp up their harvest of clean energy from sources like your rooftop. That may lead to higher renewable energy certificate (SREC) prices. You can sell those SRECs your panels produce every year, so read on!
Learn what solar incentives are available to Pennsylvania homeowners
See what Pennsylvania solar incentives you qualify for based on your utility company and city
Find out how much these incentives and/or Pennsylvania solar tax credits will reduce your cost to go solar and add batteries
The federal solar investment tax credit will have the biggest impact on the cost you will face to go solar in Pennsylvania
This perk is commonly known as the ITC, short for “Investment Tax Credit”. If you install your photovoltaic system in 2020, the federal tax credit is 26% of the cost of your solar panel system. This is 26% off the entire cost of the system including equipment, labor and permitting.
Example: If your solar energy system costs $20,000, your federal solar tax credit would be $20,000 x 26% = $5,200.
The federal tax credit falls to 22% at the end of 2022.
With net metering in some states, you get full retail rate credit for the amount of electricity you send back into the grid with your solar panels.
Net Metering requires your utility to monitor how much energy your solar power system produces and how much energy you actually consume, and make sure you get credit for the surplus.
Since 2008, Pennsylvania law has required all investor-owned utilities to offer net metering to all residential customers with solar power systems up to 50kW in capacity. If you produce more energy than you consume the surplus is carried over to your next bill at the full retail rate.
If you run a surplus for a full year (measured June 1 – May 31), your utility will cut you a check for all of it at the “price-to-compare” rate, which includes the generation and transmission components, but excludes the distribution component charges of your electric bill. While a check at the full retail rate would be even better, the majority of states do not require the utility to cut you that year-end check at all, so kudos to Pennsylvania on this one, regardless of the slightly reduced rate.
More recently, Pennsylvania has been exploring an expansion to net metering that would allow systems sized to produce up to 200% of the owner's usage. At a time when other states are restricting or eliminating net metering this is great news!
While Pennsylvania does not have a dedicated state rebate for solar panel installation, some manufacturers like LG offer their own solar rebates. These programs are usually time sensitive. For example, LG offers a $600 solar rebate on their equipment, which your installer can help you redeem over the next year.
If you’re lucky enough to live in Philadelphia, you can get a $200 per kW rebate for your home solar system now until the end of 2024. On an average sized 6kW system, you can claim $1,200. However, there are only $500,000 in funds available every year. That means, these funds are only going to provide relief to about 500 residences annually.
Aside from this incentive, there hasn't been much movement from the Pennsylvania legislature on getting more rebates for needy homeowners. The good news is that solar has fallen an additional 60% (and counting) in price over the last 10 years, so even without cash back from utilities, you can be sure you're getting a sweet deal on your shiny new solar panel system.
In addition to making electricity, your home solar panels generate a special invisible renewable energy certificate, called an SREC. Utility companies can purchase them from you to claim they are hitting their renewable energy targets. The more certificates they acquire, the less risk they have of missing the mark.
Currently, state lawmakers require utilities in Pennsylvania to source 0.5% of their electricity from solar power. Therefore, they are willing to pay a small amount to access your SRECs, so they aren’t hit with fees from the state. SRECs are currently selling for about $24 apiece.
Your solar panel system creates an SREC each time you generate a megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity. An average 6kW solar system in Pennsylvania makes about 8 MWhs a year, so that’s roughly 8 SRECs. Multiply that by current SREC prices and you can potentially net an extra $200 a year in income. Not a windfall, but still nice.
If Pennsylvania SB600 passes however, that would increase the utility solar energy sourcing requirement from .5% to a much more hefty 10%. If that bill becomes law, you can expect SREC prices here to climb much higher!
Showing data for:
Prices based on a 9.2kW system, after 26% federal tax credit
70 solar companies in Pennsylvania provide pricing on SolarReviews. Here are the best rated companies near you.
4.93 222 Reviews
Chai, 5 hours ago
Very professional and friendly company. I went through multiple solar companies, getting quotes and out of all of them Lumina had the best cost, financing, service, knowledge and warranty. The big national brands do not have the personal relationship with the local permitting office and therefore don’t know the local codes, which limit the amount of panels they put on your roof. Lumina worked closely with the permitting office and was able to maximize the number of solar panels I could get in my roof. Furthermore their roof inspector was very detailed, not just use a drone to take photos. They were on the roof inspecting and measuring every square inch. They found some flaws which I had my roofing company make warranty repairs. Without the inspection, I would of never known and a drone wouldn’t of been able to see it. All of the staff was very detailed, and kept track of every step of the install and activation process. I did ask the county inspector how the install work was and he had commented that Lumina always does good work and he doesn’t have to “chase” them for mistakes, like he has to do with other companies. My solar install is very clean, there are not conduits running every where on my roof and the panels and micro inverted they use are the most advanced ones right now. Cost ended being about $2.76/watt which is very reasonable for the type of panels and inverters I got. I had quotes from other companies were much higher and crappier panels and poorer service. I would highly recommend lumina to anyone looking to install solar. Everyone they use is in house and not contractors.
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Chai, 5 hours ago
Very professional and friendly company. I went through multiple solar companies, getting quotes and out of all of them Lumina had the best cost, financing, service, knowledge and warranty. The big national brands do not have the personal relationship with the local permitting office and therefore don’t know the local codes, which limit the amount of panels they put on your roof. Lumina worked closely with the permitting office and was able to maximize the number of solar panels I could get in my roof. Furthermore their roof inspector was very detailed, not just use a drone to take photos. They were on the roof inspecting and measuring every square inch. They found some flaws which I had my roofing company make warranty repairs. Without the inspection, I would of never known and a drone wouldn’t of been able to see it. All of the staff was very detailed, and kept track of every step of the install and activation process. I did ask the county inspector how the install work was and he had commented that Lumina always does good work and he doesn’t have to “chase” them for mistakes, like he has to do with other companies. My solar install is very clean, there are not conduits running every where on my roof and the panels and micro inverted they use are the most advanced ones right now. Cost ended being about $2.76/watt which is very reasonable for the type of panels and inverters I got. I had quotes from other companies were much higher and crappier panels and poorer service. I would highly recommend lumina to anyone looking to install solar. Everyone they use is in house and not contractors.
4.86 341 Reviews
Atul Marathe, 22 hours ago
Before going solar I got several estimates. I felt Solar Energy World did the best job of designing a system best tailored to fit my situation. Eric did a great job of explaining the details of how solar energy works and gave me the advantages and disadvantages of various options. They also offer the best warranty. The installers were all very nice and friendly and worked very hard to get the job done in a timely manner. Overall this was a great experience.
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Atul Marathe, 22 hours ago
Before going solar I got several estimates. I felt Solar Energy World did the best job of designing a system best tailored to fit my situation. Eric did a great job of explaining the details of how solar energy works and gave me the advantages and disadvantages of various options. They also offer the best warranty. The installers were all very nice and friendly and worked very hard to get the job done in a timely manner. Overall this was a great experience.
4.86 78 Reviews
Prof JSF, over 1 month
I cannot say enough good things about Paradise Energy!!!!!! I have never dealt with a company that pays more careful attention to the individual customer. We were impressed from the very first by the fact that they did not instantly try to sell us on a solar installation, but instead cautioned us that they would first ascertain whether we got enough sunlight to make it worth our while. They explained everything to us every step of the way, were meticulous in their work, and literally kept in weekly touch until the project was complete. And then they even checked up afterward to make sure that the utility company had done its part correctly, and to make sure that we were 100% satisfied with every detail including the (optional) placement on our property of a sign saying we are solar powered. They are awesome.
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Average cost (5kW system)
$16,000 ($3.20 per watt)
Prof JSF, over 1 month
I cannot say enough good things about Paradise Energy!!!!!! I have never dealt with a company that pays more careful attention to the individual customer. We were impressed from the very first by the fact that they did not instantly try to sell us on a solar installation, but instead cautioned us that they would first ascertain whether we got enough sunlight to make it worth our while. They explained everything to us every step of the way, were meticulous in their work, and literally kept in weekly touch until the project was complete. And then they even checked up afterward to make sure that the utility company had done its part correctly, and to make sure that we were 100% satisfied with every detail including the (optional) placement on our property of a sign saying we are solar powered. They are awesome.
4.84 114 Reviews
Charles L., 1 month ago
I started working with Exact Solar in June 2021. They were consistently responsive and very helpful in all aspects of the design and permitting part of the process. Once the necessary approval and supply issues were taken care of, the installation itself was completed quickly and professionally, with the system going online in December/January. Exact Solar was also very helpful with setting up net metering and SREC accounts. I highly recommend their services!
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Average cost (5kW system)
$12,400 ($2.48 per watt)
Charles L., 1 month ago
I started working with Exact Solar in June 2021. They were consistently responsive and very helpful in all aspects of the design and permitting part of the process. Once the necessary approval and supply issues were taken care of, the installation itself was completed quickly and professionally, with the system going online in December/January. Exact Solar was also very helpful with setting up net metering and SREC accounts. I highly recommend their services!
4.75 71 Reviews
Ed L, over 1 month
They did an amazing job! Everything went as planed and scheduled. High marks to the entire crew!
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Average cost (5kW system)
$23,200 ($4.64 per watt)
Ed L, over 1 month
They did an amazing job! Everything went as planed and scheduled. High marks to the entire crew!
4.72 36 Reviews
Craig H., 1 week ago
TerraSol was great to work with. They were super professional and extremely easy to work with. They were happy to answer all of the 1000 questions I had before we signed anything and at no time felt like I was being pressured. They have a great working relationship with Peco and found ways to expedite the permitting process as much as possible. The install went extremely smooth with no issues. I would strongly recommend them for anyone considering installing a solar power system on their home or business.
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Average cost (5kW system)
$25,900 ($5.18 per watt)
Craig H., 1 week ago
TerraSol was great to work with. They were super professional and extremely easy to work with. They were happy to answer all of the 1000 questions I had before we signed anything and at no time felt like I was being pressured. They have a great working relationship with Peco and found ways to expedite the permitting process as much as possible. The install went extremely smooth with no issues. I would strongly recommend them for anyone considering installing a solar power system on their home or business.
4.63 59 Reviews
Pat, over 1 month
We had solar panels put on our house and decided on EIS because of our initial contact with Ian. Their works crews were very professional and reliable. I appreciated all of the education that they provided to us. I highly recommend them.
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Pat, over 1 month
We had solar panels put on our house and decided on EIS because of our initial contact with Ian. Their works crews were very professional and reliable. I appreciated all of the education that they provided to us. I highly recommend them.
4.63 39 Reviews
Irene, over 1 month
SAVKAT is a phenomenal company, phenomenal personnel, and phenomenal products and solar panels! I am so thrilled to be a SAVKAT customer, and give my highest recommendations to everybody I know to get on board with solar power, SunPower, and SAVKAT!
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Irene, over 1 month
SAVKAT is a phenomenal company, phenomenal personnel, and phenomenal products and solar panels! I am so thrilled to be a SAVKAT customer, and give my highest recommendations to everybody I know to get on board with solar power, SunPower, and SAVKAT!
4.61 35 Reviews
Jim Morano, over 1 month
Charlie, Catherine and the office staff were very responsive to my every call and question. Their installation crew and subcontractors did their jobs on time and very professionally.<br />
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Average cost (5kW system)
$30,950 ($6.19 per watt)
Jim Morano, over 1 month
Charlie, Catherine and the office staff were very responsive to my every call and question. Their installation crew and subcontractors did their jobs on time and very professionally.<br />
4.61 40 Reviews
Folmer, over 1 month
Solar Consultant Dan Degler did an excellent job in explaining the Bright Eye Solar System. We were pleased with the courtesy and efficiency of the work crew who installed the system. We also appreciated the prompt replies to questions from all staff members.We would recommend this company.
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Average cost (5kW system)
$12,000 ($2.40 per watt)
Folmer, over 1 month
Solar Consultant Dan Degler did an excellent job in explaining the Bright Eye Solar System. We were pleased with the courtesy and efficiency of the work crew who installed the system. We also appreciated the prompt replies to questions from all staff members.We would recommend this company.