TheSolarMath Blog

When homeowners run the numbers on solar, most focus on system size, installation cost, and the federal tax credit. But there is a fourth variable that can shift your payback period by years: whether your state offers net metering, what kind, and how strong the credit rate is. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association,…

Most homeowners assume that having solar panels means having power during a blackout. In reality, a standard grid-tied solar system is required by U.S. electrical code to shut down automatically when the grid goes out — to protect utility workers repairing the lines. Without a solar battery storage system, your panels go dark the moment…

The average U.S. home solar installation costs $30,500 before incentives. The average homeowner saves $61,000 over 25 years. That gap — between what you pay upfront and what you recover over time — is the entire solar cost vs savings conversation. But those averages hide enormous variation by state, electricity rate, and local incentives that…

For most homeowners, solar payback is the question that sits behind every other solar question. Cost matters. Savings matter. But what ties them together — and what ultimately determines whether solar makes financial sense — is how long it takes for those savings to recover the upfront investment. That question became more important in 2026…

The most common question homeowners are asking about solar right now is a simple one: is the federal solar tax credit still available? The short answer is: not for most homeowners in 2026. The 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit — known as Section 25D — expired on December 31, 2025, after being terminated nearly a…

For most homeowners, the real question about solar is simple: how much could it actually save me each month? But getting a realistic answer requires understanding a small set of numbers that most online estimates either skip or oversimplify. The timing of that question matters more in 2026 than it did even a year ago.…

Most homeowners ask the same first question about solar installation: how much will it cost me? It is a fair question, and in 2026, the answer is more interesting than most people expect. U.S. residential electricity prices rose 9.5% year over year in January 2026, hitting 17.45¢ per kWh on average. At the same time,…