Federal solar credit ended Dec 31, 2025
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Calculator

Solar savings & payback calculator.

Estimate what solar would cost and save where you live. Pick your state and city to load defaults from public data: your utility's average price and usage from EIA, solar output from PVWatts, the state's median installed price from Berkeley Lab, and your utility's export rules. Then replace them with the numbers on your bill and your quotes. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Fact-checked by Sorted & Saved data desk
Updated Data verified Nov 5, 2026

Calculator

solar-calculator / arizona

01Where you live

State
City
1,755 kWh / kW / yrAPSPVWatts estimate for Phoenix

02Your electricity

Monthly use
kWh

Find it on your bill; we start from the local average.

Electricity price
¢/kWh

Arizona average residential price, Jan–Aug 2026 average (preliminary)

03Your system

Share of your use to cover
%

That is a 7.4 kW system making 12,987 kWh a year.

Installed price
$/W

State median $3.1/W before incentives (an estimate). Use your quote.

04Incentives

−$1,000

05Paying for it

Paying cash gives the fastest payback and avoids dealer fees. Switch to Loan to compare monthly payments.

Pays for itself in

025 yrs

14.9

years to break even

Net cost$21,940
Year 1$1,337
25-yr gain$17,914
System7.4 kW
Price$22,940
Incentives−$1,000
Covers101% of use

A 7.4 kW system in Arizona costs about $22,940 ($21,940 after incentives), saves about $1,337 in its first year and pays for itself in about 14.9 years.

Month by month

Solar output vs. your use

JFMAMJJASOND
Solar output Your use (1,075 kWh)

Cash position

When you break even

todaybreak-even ┄year 25

Year one

Where the savings come from

Used at home
+$997
Export credits
+$361
Solar charges & upkeep
−$21
Year-one savings
$1,337

25 years

Bills with and without solar

Electricity bills, no solar$67,682
Solar + remaining bills$49,767

Over 25 years you keep $17,914 compared with not going solar.

Where the defaults come from [ 5 sources ]
  • PriceArizona average residential price, Jan–Aug 2026 average (preliminary) · source
  • UseLocal residential average · source
  • OutputPVWatts estimate for Phoenix · source
  • CostState median, an estimate · source
  • ExportsAPS credits exports at 5.55¢ per kWh (Rate Rider RCP (Resource Comparison Proxy export rate)). Solar customers also pay $0.24 per kW of panels a month, included in the estimates. · source

How the calculator works

The calculator sizes a system to cover the share of your yearly electricity use you choose, multiplies its size by your price per watt, subtracts the incentives you select, and then adds up savings year by year. Each year, output falls slightly as panels age and the electricity price rises by the rate you set. Energy you use as it is produced saves the full retail price; exported energy earns your utility's export credit, or offsets purchases at retail where your utility still offers net metering. Payback is the point where cumulative savings first reach your net cost. The methodology page lists every formula and default.

How to get an accurate answer

  1. Use your real usage. Add up the kWh on your last twelve bills and divide by twelve.
  2. Use your quote's price per watt and size. Tick "I have a quote with a system size".
  3. Set the share used at home. Under net billing this matters most. Homes that are empty during the day use less of their solar directly; a battery or daytime EV charging raises the share.
  4. Check your utility's export rate on our net metering pages and enter your retail plan's buyback rate if you live in Houston or Dallas.
  5. Compare financing honestly. Choose "Loan" and enter the APR with fees; the calculator shows total interest next to your savings.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is a solar calculator?

It is as accurate as its inputs. With your own usage, your quote's size and price, and your utility's export rate, the estimate is a sound planning number; roof direction, shading and rate-plan changes can still move the result.

Why does the calculator not include the federal tax credit?

Because homeowners who buy a system installed after December 31, 2025 cannot claim it. See the Federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (25D)[1].

Do you collect my information?

No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser, needs no sign-up and sends nothing to us or to installers.

sources

[ 56 ]

Every number on this page links to one of these sources. Dates show when we last checked each one.

  1. IRS FS-2025-05: FAQs for modification of sections 25C, 25D, 25E, 30C, 30D, 45L, 45W, and 179D under Public Law 119-21 (OBBB)irs.gov · checked Nov 5, 2026
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  3. EIA Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price 2024, Table 5A: Residential average monthly bill by stateeia.gov · checked Nov 5, 2026
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  16. Georgia Power - Rooftop Solar FAQs (with RNR-11 tariff, effective January 2023 billing month)georgiapower.com · checked Nov 5, 2026
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