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Calcimator

Solar Panel Savings Calculator

Calculate solar panel savings, payback period, and return on investment. Includes federal tax credits, production estimates, and 25-year projections.

Inputs

$
$/kWh
kW
$
hrs

Results

Net System Cost

$12,600

Tax Credit Savings$5,400
First Year Savings$1,025
Monthly Savings$85
Payback Period11 years
25-Year Gross Savings$34,941
25-Year Net Profit$22,341
Annual Production7,884 kWh
Bill Coverage57%

Net System Cost

$12,600

How to Use This Calculator
  1. Start by filling in the input fields below. Results update instantly as you type, so you can experiment with different values to see how they affect the outcome.
  2. Monthly Electric Bill — Your average monthly electricity bill. Check a recent utility statement. Accepts values from $20 to $1,000 (default: $150).
  3. Electricity Rate — Cost per kilowatt-hour from your utility bill. US average is ~$0.13/kWh. Accepts values from $0.05 /kWh to $0.5 /kWh (default: $0.13 /kWh).
  4. System Size — Average US home: 5-8 kW system. Accepts values from 2 kW to 20 kW (default: 6 kW).
  5. System Cost (before credits) — Average: $2.50-$3.50 per watt installed. Accepts values from $5,000 to $80,000 (default: $18,000).
  6. Peak Sun Hours/Day — US average: 4-5 hours. Southwest: 6+. Northeast: 3-4. Accepts values from 2 hrs to 8 hrs (default: 4.5 hrs).
  7. Expand "Advanced Options" for additional fine-tuning. These optional inputs let you model more specific scenarios:
  8. Federal Tax Credit — ITC is 30% through 2032. Accepts values from 0 % to 50 % (default: 30 %).
  9. Electricity Price Inflation — Expected annual increase in electricity costs. Historical average is ~2-3%. Accepts values from 0 % to 10 % (default: 3 %).
  10. Panel Degradation — Panels lose ~0.5% efficiency per year. Accepts values from 0 %/yr to 2 %/yr (default: 0.5 %/yr).
  11. Once all inputs are set, review your results in the Results panel. Here's what each output means:
  12. Net System Cost — shown as a dollar amount. This is the primary result of this calculator.
  13. Tax Credit Savings — shown as a dollar amount.
  14. First Year Savings — shown as a dollar amount.
  15. Monthly Savings — shown as a dollar amount.
  16. Payback Period — shown as a numeric value.
  17. 25-Year Gross Savings — shown as a dollar amount.
  18. 25-Year Net Profit — shown as a dollar amount.
  19. Annual Production — shown as a numeric value.
  20. Bill Coverage — shown as a percentage.
  21. Scroll down to explore 2 charts (Cumulative Savings Over 25 Years, Cost vs Savings) for a visual breakdown of the data.
  22. Explore the related calculators below if you need deeper analysis or want to approach this topic from a different angle.
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Formula

Annual Production = System Size × Sun Hours × 365 × 0.8 (efficiency). Savings = Production × Rate. Payback = Net Cost ÷ Annual Savings.

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