Discover Your Solar Energy Savings Potential: How to Estimate It in 2026

Updated October 2026. How to estimate what solar panels would save on your home, what changed with the federal tax credit, and what solar means when you sell or buy a house. IRS, Energy Department, EIA and Florida statute pages were read on October 28, 2026.

Your solar savings depend on three numbers: how much sun your roof gets, what your utility charges per kilowatt-hour and what the system costs. As of October 2026, US homes paid an average of 18.16 cents per kWh (EIA, August 2026), and the 30% federal credit ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Google’s free Project Sunroof tool gives a first estimate for your address.

Jump to: 🏠 Estimate your roof · 💲 Savings math · ⏱️ Tax credit · 🤝 Own or lease · 🪜 Selling with solar · ❓ FAQ

Solar sales pitches tend to start with big round numbers. A better start is your own electric bill and your own roof. This guide shows how to get a free estimate, how to check it with simple math, and what to ask before you sign anything. Because we’re a real estate company, it also covers the part most solar guides skip: what happens to those panels when you sell the house.

How do you estimate solar savings for your home?

Start with Google’s Project Sunroof. Type your address and it pulls Google Earth imagery of your roof. Then it models the roof’s shape, the shade from nearby trees and buildings, and local weather. It shows how many hours of usable sunlight your roof gets in a year and how many square feet could hold panels. It also gives an estimated net savings figure. You can adjust your monthly electric bill to fine-tune the result, and compare buying, leasing and taking a loan. Find it at https://www.google.com/get/sunroof.

On Project Sunroof’s own sample house in Worcester, Massachusetts, the tool shows 1,551 hours of usable sunlight a year, 2,579 square feet available for panels and about $25,000 in estimated net savings over 20 years. Your numbers will differ, sometimes by a lot. Treat the tool as a first pass, not a quote.

The Energy Department suggests a second check with NREL’s PVWatts calculator, which estimates how much power a system would produce at any address. Then get written quotes from two or three installers. The DOE points to NABCEP as the industry-standard installer certification. For background on the technology, our primer Solar Energy 101: Everything You Need To Know covers panels, inverters and batteries in plain terms.

Is your roof a good fit?

Per the DOE, panels work in all climates, but some roofs aren’t suitable because of age or tree cover. South-facing roofs with a slope between 15 and 40 degrees usually perform best. Check how many years your roof has left, too. Taking panels off to replace shingles later costs money. If the roof is close to the end, replace it first. Our comparison of solar on the roof vs. on the ground helps if the roof isn’t ideal.

How much can solar save on your electric bill?

Here’s a quick way to sanity-check any estimate. Look at the kWh on your last 12 bills. Multiply the share your system would cover by your rate. The table uses EIA’s average residential prices for August 2026.

So a system that replaces 10,000 kWh a year in Texas saves about $1,600 a year at today’s rates, before any monthly utility fees. Divide the system’s net price by that yearly figure to get a rough payback in years. Rates change, and so does what your utility pays for extra power you send back. That’s why we’d lean on your own bills over any national average.

Two more things shape the result. The DOE notes that net metering, where the utility credits power you export, depends on your state and utility, so call yours first. And Project Sunroof points out that in most areas there’s little financial benefit to producing more power than you use, which is why it sizes systems to cover close to 100% of your use. For more ways to cut the bill, read how using solar energy can lower your electricity bills and our tips for keeping a home cool in a heat wave.

Is there still a federal tax credit for solar panels?

Not for new systems. The IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit equaled 30% of the cost of qualified clean energy property installed from 2022 through December 31, 2025. It isn’t available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. If your system went in during 2025, you may still claim it on that year’s return. A system installed now doesn’t qualify.

That changes the math a lot. On a $20,000 system, the old credit was worth $6,000. Without it, the same yearly savings take longer to pay back. Be wary of any sales pitch in 2026 that still leads with “30% back from the IRS”. Ask the installer to show their numbers without it. State and utility rebates may still exist, so check your state energy office.

Should you buy, finance or lease solar panels?

Project Sunroof compares three ways to pay: buy outright, take a loan, or lease. The DOE adds a fourth, the power purchase agreement, where a company owns the panels on your roof and sells you the power. Each changes who owns the equipment, which matters later.

• Buying outright costs the most upfront, and you keep all the savings.
• A loan spreads the cost; your savings are the bill reduction minus the loan payment.
• A lease or PPA costs little upfront, but a company owns the system and you pay it for years.

The DOE flags a federal consumer advisory from August 7, 2024, issued by Treasury, the CFPB and the FTC, on spotting solar scams. Its advice is simple: don’t give in to pushy sales tactics, talk to certified installers and understand your financing before you sign. Our list of practical reasons you might want to use solar energy helps you decide if it’s worth it for you at all.

What happens to solar panels when you sell your house?

Owned panels are part of the house, and buyers will ask about them. Gather the paperwork before you list: the purchase contract, the warranty, the permit and inspection sign-off, and 12 months of electric bills showing the before and after. Put “solar, owned” and the system size in your listing. Buyers searching for lower bills look for it.

Leased panels or a PPA take more work. The buyer has to agree to take over the contract, and the solar company usually has to approve them. Some sellers buy out the lease before closing instead. Start that conversation with the solar company the week you list, not the week of closing. It can hold up the title work, so tell your closing agent early. Our guide to who pays closing costs when selling a home explains how those payoffs show up on the settlement statement.

Taxes can help in some states. In Florida, the just value a solar system adds to a home can’t be counted in its assessed value for property tax, under Fla. Stat. §193.624. So the panels don’t raise the buyer’s tax bill there.

Pricing a home with solar is like pricing any upgrade. Look at recent sales of similar homes, with and without panels, and see what buyers paid. Our guide on how to price your home to sell walks through comps. When you’re ready, Beycome helps homeowners list on the MLS for a flat fee: Basic $99, Enhanced $399, with $0 at closing, in 17 states and DC. Want experts with full support through the sale? Concierge is $1,399, and you stay in control. Basic is $129 in California and Illinois.

Buying a home that already has solar?

Ask whether the panels are owned or leased, ask for the bills, and read any lease before you make an offer. Our article on the top reasons to buy a house with renewable energy covers what to look for. If you buy through an agent’s listing, the Beycome buyer program is open to every buyer on homes listed by other agents (the commission credit can’t apply where no buyer-agent commission is offered, like most FSBO homes, or on homes listed by Beycome sellers). There’s no upfront fee; Beycome keeps 1% of the price, minimum $1,499, and credits the rest at closing, with lender approval.

Solar savings questions homeowners ask