Costs

What solar panels cost in 2026, and what changed

We are not going to open with a single big savings number, because any site that does is guessing. Put your ZIP in and we will tell you which funding routes are open at your address, then set out the costs honestly below.

Homeowners Solar Funding Checker Three questions, about a minute.

Which funding routes are open at your address?

Your ZIP tells us which utility serves you and which state rules apply. The other two tell us whether solar is worth modelling on your home at all.

Do you own the property?

Roughly what is your average monthly electric bill?

ZIP code

Where should we send it?

This is a funding check, not an application.

Your name

Phone number

We call you about residential solar funding. Your details only go to an installer if you ask us to on that call. Privacy Policy · Your Privacy Choices.

Checking your ZIP code against installer coverage
Identifying your electric utility
Looking up the incentives that apply in your state
Putting your details together

That ZIP code is outside the areas we list

Our installer partner covers New Jersey and Connecticut statewide, Long Island plus Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York, and Southwest Florida. The ZIP code you entered is not on that list.

Listed ZIP codes and a real service area do not always line up exactly, and coverage changes, so it is worth a proper check rather than a lookup. You can carry on and we will check your address against the installer's current area and call you either way. If nobody can cover you, we will say so on that call and we will not pass your details to anyone who cannot serve you.

See exactly where we do cover, or read what happened to the federal tax credit.

Solar has to be agreed by whoever owns the roof

We are not able to help renters, and we would rather say so at question two than take your phone number first. If you can speak to your landlord or building owner, they are welcome to come back to us themselves.

In the meantime, if your electric bill is the problem, your utility almost certainly runs an energy assistance or efficiency program that is open to renters. It is worth a call to them.

4.9/5 from 7,075 UK customer reviews4.9/5 · 7,075 UK reviews

No upfront cost routes exist in every state we cover
Every figure below carries its regulator or utility source
We will tell you if solar is a poor fit for your roof

Independent, not a government agency About a minute

The change that matters

Until the end of 2025, the standard way US solar was priced to a homeowner was gross cost minus a 30 percent federal tax credit. That credit no longer exists for anyone buying a system. On a typical installation that is a swing of several thousand dollars, and it means every payback calculation produced before 2026 is wrong.

Component	2025	2026
Gross system cost	Set by size and complexity	Unchanged
Federal credit, cash or loan	30% of installed cost	None
Federal credit, lease or PPA	Claimed by the owner	Still claimed by the owner, priced into your payment
State incentives	Varies by state	Varies by state, and several rates have moved. See the state pages
Sales tax	Exempt in all four states	Exempt in all four states

Aerial view of an American suburban neighbourhood with solar arrays on several of the roofs — Illustrative photography.

What actually drives your number

How much power you use. The system is sized to your consumption, and in New York it is capped relative to your annual use.
Usable roof area, pitch and orientation. South-facing and unshaded is the benchmark; everything else costs efficiency.
Shading between 9am and 3pm. The only shade that really matters.
Roof condition and material. Tile costs more to mount than asphalt shingle. A roof near end of life needs dealing with first.
Electrical service and panel capacity. An upgrade is a real line item.
Your utility. Interconnection requirements and export arrangements differ, sometimes within the same county.
The financing structure. On a loan, the dealer fee can add 10 to 30 percent to the price you are quoted. How to find it.

Savings are not guaranteed. Any figures shown are illustrative examples only and are not a quote, offer or estimate for your property. Actual savings depend on your energy use, utility rates and rate changes, roof orientation, shading, system size and performance, local weather, applicable tariffs and the terms of your contract. Eligibility and savings are determined by your utility, roof condition and roof space, azimuth, tree location, shading, weather and other factors.

Get an actual number for my roof

FAQs

Cost questions

What does a residential solar system cost in 2026?

It depends on system size, roof complexity, your utility and your state, and any site that gives you one national number is guessing. What we can tell you is what changed: a system that cost $22,000 before the federal credit used to net out around $15,400 after it. In 2026 the net cost for a cash buyer is the gross cost, because there is no federal credit. That is a roughly $6,600 swing on a typical system and it is the single biggest change to solar economics in a decade.

Why will you not give me a price on this page?

Because we would be making it up. Your price depends on roof pitch, orientation, shading, electrical service, your utility's interconnection requirements, whether the roof needs work first, and how much power you actually use. Anyone quoting you a firm price before looking at your roof is quoting a number they intend to revise. We would rather tell you that than pretend.

Does the roof need replacing first?

If it is near the end of its life, yes, and it is better to know that now. Taking an array off and putting it back to re-roof is expensive. A survey will assess roof condition and remaining life before a system is designed, and some financing routes will decline a roof in poor condition outright.