About SolarBreakeven

Solar panel payback is 7 years in Phoenix. It can be 15+ years in Seattle. SolarBreakeven calculates actual breakeven using your utility rates, state incentives, and real installation costs — not the optimistic number solar installers put on their sales sheets.

How the Calculator Works

Every estimate on this site is built from publicly available sources: government surveys, industry reports, and trade association data. We don't use made-up "average" figures. When we say median cost is $X, there's a source behind that number.

The calculator takes your inputs and applies regional cost factors where we have them. Costs vary a lot by location. A home renovation in San Francisco costs twice what it does in rural Ohio. We account for that when the data supports it.

Outputs are estimates, not quotes. The number you see is a reasonable starting point for budgeting and comparison. The actual number you'll pay depends on specifics we can't know from a calculator: your contractor, your timeline, what you find inside the walls when demo starts.

Our Data Sources

EIA state-level residential electricity price data, NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) solar irradiance data by location, SEIA (Solar Energy Industries Association) annual installation cost surveys, DSIRE state and local incentive database, and IRS Form 5695 residential clean energy credit schedules.

We do not accept payment from service providers to influence estimates. The numbers on this site are not adjusted to favor any vendor, brand, or category.

Who Made This

SolarBreakeven is part of a small collection of cost calculator sites built and maintained in Sacramento, CA. We're a tiny operation. No VC funding, no content farm, no sponsored results. Just a site trying to be useful.

If you find a number that seems wrong, we want to know. Outdated or inaccurate data is the thing we care most about fixing. The goal is accuracy, and we'd rather be corrected than confidently wrong.

A Note on Estimates

Cost calculators have a real limitation: they can't see your project. They work from statistical distributions, not your specific situation. Use the numbers here to get oriented, understand the range of what you might pay, and know what questions to ask when you talk to an actual professional.

The estimate you see here is not a contract, not a guarantee, and not financial advice. It's a reasonable ballpark based on publicly available data.

Built in Sacramento, CA. Last updated March 2026.