Solar Panel Cost Calculator: Price a Home System in 2026

Estimate what a home solar system costs in 2026, with or without a battery, before and after rebates. Enter the system size and price per watt from a quote, or use the defaults to see a typical price.

System size

DC size in kilowatts, shown on your quote.

Installed price per watt

Total price divided by system watts. Get at least three quotes to see your local range.

Battery (installed), if any

Enter 0 for solar only.

State or utility rebates

Only count programs you have confirmed are open.

Federal credit you can claim

Homeowners who buy a system finished in 2026 get no federal credit (25D ended after 2025).

Your result

Your estimated net cost $23,100

Solar panels and install: $23,100
Total before incentives: $23,100
Federal credit: $0
Net cost per watt: $3.00

A system like this would cost about $23,100 before incentives and $23,100 after the rebates you entered.

Educational estimate only. Not financial, tax or legal advice.

What you pay for

Solar system (net)
Battery (net)
Rebates and credits

View as table

Item	Amount
Solar system (net)	$23,100
Battery (net)	$0
Rebates and credits	$0

Compare: solar only, with a battery, and a lower-priced quote

Result	A Solar only	B Solar + battery	C Quote $0.50/W lower	Difference (B − A)
Total before incentives	$23,100	$39,100	$19,250	+$16,000
Net cost	$23,100	$39,100	$19,250	+$16,000

Results update as you type. Without JavaScript you see the worked example below.

How to use it

Enter the system size in kW from your quote.
Enter the installed price per watt, or divide a quote's total price by its watts.
Add the installed battery price if the quote includes one, or leave it at 0.
Enter state or utility rebates you have confirmed are open.
Choose the federal credit option that matches when your installation was completed.

On this page

A solar panel cost calculator multiplies your system's watts by the installed price per watt, adds any battery and subtracts rebates. With the defaults, a 7.7 kW system at $3.00 per watt costs $23,100 before and after incentives, because the federal 25D credit no longer applies to systems completed in 2026.

How to use the solar panel cost calculator

System size. The DC kW on your quote. The default, 7.7 kW, was the median size of US home systems installed in 2025 (LBNL, 2026 (opens in a new tab)). If you do not know your size yet, use how many solar panels do I need.
Installed price per watt. A quote's total price divided by its watts. The default, $3.00, matches LBNL's 2025 median for cash purchases.
Battery (installed), if any. The battery line from the quote. Leave at 0 for solar only.
State or utility rebates. Only programs you have confirmed are open.
Federal credit you can claim. "None (installed in 2026 or later)" or "30% (installation completed by Dec 31, 2025)".

The results show your net cost, the solar and total price, the federal credit and net cost per watt, plus a donut chart splitting what you pay into the solar system, the battery and rebates or credits. A scenario table compares solar only, solar plus a battery (your battery figure, or $16,000 if you left it at 0), and the same system with a quote $0.50 per watt lower.

How the calculation works

Solar price      = system kW × 1,000 × price per watt
Total price      = solar price + battery price
Federal credit   = total price × credit % (0% or 30%)
Net cost         = total price − rebates − federal credit (never below $0)
Net cost per watt = net cost ÷ (system kW × 1,000)

Assumptions that match the code:

The price per watt is all-in: equipment, labor, permits and overhead.
The battery is a separate dollar amount, so net cost per watt includes the battery.
The 30% option applies to the whole total, as 25D covered both solar and qualifying batteries of at least 3 kWh for 2022 to 2025 installs (IRS Form 5695 instructions (opens in a new tab)). The tool does not reduce the credit basis for rebates; use the solar tax credit calculator for that detail.

Worked example

Default inputs: 7.7 kW, $3.00 per watt, no battery, $0 rebates, no federal credit.

Solar panels and install: 7,700 W × $3.00 = $23,100.
Total before incentives: $23,100; federal credit: $0.
Your estimated net cost: $23,100, or $3.00 per watt.

With these defaults the scenario table shows $23,100 for solar only, $39,100 with a $16,000 battery, and $19,250 for a quote $0.50 per watt lower.

Second example, solar plus battery at the national median price: 7.7 kW at $3.60 per watt, a $16,000 installed battery and a $1,000 utility rebate.

Solar: $27,720. Total before incentives: $43,720.
Net cost: $42,720, or $5.55 per watt of PV with the battery included.
At $0.50 per watt less, the same package would cost $38,870 after the rebate.

Price benchmarks for a 7.7 kW system

Benchmark (2025 installs)	Price per watt	7.7 kW system
Cash purchase median	$3.00	$23,100
All host-owned median	$3.60	$27,720
Loan-financed median (includes dealer fees)	$4.50	$34,650
Solar plus storage median (per PV watt)	$4.90	$37,730

Medians are from LBNL's 2026 data update as read from its charts; your local market may be higher or lower.

What your result means

Net cost is the number to compare with savings. Plug it into the solar payback calculator along with first-year savings to see break-even. If you have several bids, the solar cost per watt calculator lines them up side by side.

A quote well above $4 per watt for a simple roof deserves questions. Our guide to how much solar panels cost explains what pushes prices up, and are solar batteries worth it helps you decide whether the battery line belongs in the quote.

Rules that change the answer

25D ended for 2026 installs. P.L. 119-21 ended the credit for expenditures after December 31, 2025, and the IRS says an expenditure is made when installation is completed, so paying a deposit in 2025 is not enough (IRS FAQ (opens in a new tab)).
Leases and PPAs. The leasing company may claim the §48E business credit, subject to construction deadlines and foreign-entity sourcing rules. You do not, but the lease price may reflect it.
State and utility rebates come and go. California's battery incentive budgets were mostly closed or waitlisted as of October 2026 (SGIP (opens in a new tab)).
Dealer fees. Financed prices often include fees of 10% to 30% (CFPB (opens in a new tab)).

Common mistakes

Subtracting 30% for a system that will be finished in 2026.
Comparing a financed price with another company's cash price.
Dividing price by AC watts instead of DC watts.
Forgetting a main panel upgrade, roof repairs or tree work listed separately.
Counting a rebate that is waitlisted. See our guide to solar sales red flags.

Limits of this calculator

This is an educational estimate, not a quote. Real prices depend on your roof, electrical panel, equipment, permits, local labor and the installer's margin. Get several written bids, as the FTC (opens in a new tab) recommends, and confirm tax questions with a tax professional.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a solar system cost in 2026?

With the defaults, a 7.7 kW system at $3.00 per watt costs $23,100 before incentives. LBNL's 2026 data update reports a 2025 median of about $3.60 per watt across host-owned home systems, or roughly $27,700 for the same size, with cash deals near $3.00 and loan-financed deals near $4.50 because loan prices include dealer fees.

Can I still subtract the 30 percent federal tax credit?

Only if installation was completed by December 31, 2025. As of October 2026, the 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit does not apply to expenditures made after that date, and the IRS counts an expenditure as made when installation is completed. That is why the calculator's federal credit field defaults to none.

How much does adding a battery cost?

LBNL found cash-purchased solar-plus-storage systems ran about $2.10 per watt of PV above solar alone in 2025, which is about $16,000 on a 7.7 kW system. That is the battery figure the scenario table uses when you have not entered one. The median home battery installed in 2025 was 13.5 kWh.

What is a good price per watt?

As a reference, LBNL reports a 2025 median of about $3.00 per watt for cash purchases and $3.60 for all host-owned systems, and about 60 percent of large installers had medians under $4 per watt. Prices vary by state, roof and equipment, so compare at least three written quotes on the same basis.

Why is a financed system's price higher?

Many solar loans include a dealer fee that the installer pays the lender and builds into the price. CFPB found these fees typically run 10 to 30 percent of the cash price and can exceed 50 percent. Always ask for the cash price and compare it with the financed amount.

Does the price include permits and interconnection?

A full installed quote usually does, since soft costs such as labor, permitting, sales and overhead plus balance-of-system make up about 80 percent of the price according to LBNL. If a quote lists permits, electrical panel upgrades or roof work separately, add them to the total before dividing by watts.

Should I count state rebates?

Count only programs you have confirmed are open for your utility and install date. Many battery and solar rebate budgets close or waitlist; California's SGIP residential budgets were mostly closed or waitlisted as of October 2026. Ask the installer for the program name and check the program's own page.

Sources

Checked against these sources. Dates show when each was last reviewed.

U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage: 2026 Data Update (opens in a new tab), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (as ofOctober 2026)
Energy Credits FAQs (FS-2025-05) (opens in a new tab), Internal Revenue Service (as ofOctober 2026)
Instructions for Form 5695 (opens in a new tab), Internal Revenue Service (as ofOctober 2026)
Issue Spotlight: Solar Financing (opens in a new tab), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (as ofOctober 2026)
Solar Power for Your Home (opens in a new tab), Federal Trade Commission (as ofOctober 2026)
SGIP Program Metrics (opens in a new tab), Self-Generation Incentive Program (California) (as ofOctober 2026)

Last updated: October 18, 2026How we build our calculators

On this page

25D credit (Residential Clean Energy Credit): A 30% federal tax credit homeowners could claim for solar and batteries they paid for. It ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025; the IRS counts the expense when installation is completed.
48E credit: A federal business tax credit for clean electricity property. Companies that own leased or PPA systems on homes may claim it, subject to construction deadlines and sourcing rules. The homeowner does not claim it.
Avoided cost: What it would cost a utility to produce or buy the same power elsewhere. Some states pay rooftop exports at an avoided-cost rate, which is far below retail.
Dealer fee: A charge a solar lender takes from the loan, usually built into the amount you borrow so the advertised interest rate looks low. The CFPB has warned these fees can add tens of percent to the price.
Degradation: The slow loss of a panel’s output over time. NREL research puts the median around 0.5% per year, and most panel warranties guarantee roughly 80–90% of original output after 25 years.
Escalator: A yearly percentage increase written into a lease or PPA, often 0–3%. A 2.9% escalator raises the payment by about 100% over 25 years.
FEOC rules: Federal “foreign entity of concern” sourcing limits added in 2025 that a business must meet to claim 48E credits on projects starting construction in 2026 or later.
Interconnection: Your utility’s approval to connect a solar system to the grid. Most utilities require an application before installation and a final permission to operate (PTO) before you turn it on.
Inverter: The device that turns the direct current (DC) from panels or batteries into the alternating current (AC) your home uses. Types include string inverters, microinverters and hybrid inverters that also manage a battery.
Islanding (backup mode): When a solar-plus-battery system disconnects from the grid during an outage and keeps powering your home. Ordinary grid-tied solar without a battery shuts off in an outage for line-worker safety.
kW (kilowatt): A unit of power: how fast electricity is made or used at one moment. Solar system size is quoted in kW of panel capacity (DC). A 7 kW system has panels rated 7,000 watts in total.
kWh (kilowatt-hour): A unit of energy: using 1 kW for one hour. Your electric bill charges you per kWh, and solar output and battery capacity are measured in kWh.
Microinverter: A small inverter mounted under each panel. Shade on one panel affects only that panel, and each panel can be monitored separately. Usually costs a little more than one central string inverter.
NABCEP certification: A voluntary professional certification for solar installers from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners. It is a useful signal, but you should also check state contractor licensing.
NEM 3.0: The common name for California’s Net Billing Tariff, which applies to new rooftop solar customers of PG&E, SCE and SDG&E who applied on or after April 15, 2023. Exports earn hourly values far below retail rates.
Net billing: A billing rule where exported solar earns a credit set by a separate, usually lower, export rate rather than the full retail price. California’s Net Billing Tariff (often called NEM 3.0) is the best-known example.
Net metering: A billing rule where each kWh your panels send to the grid earns a credit equal (or close) to the retail price you pay. Credits offset power you buy later, often rolling over month to month.
Offset: The share of your yearly electricity use that solar is designed to produce. A 100% offset aims to match a year of use; under low export credits a smaller offset can pay back faster.
Payback period: How many years of bill savings it takes to recover what you paid for a system. A shorter payback means a better investment, all else equal.
Peak sun hours: Daily sunlight expressed as the number of hours at full-strength sun (1,000 watts per square meter). Five peak sun hours means the day’s sunlight equals five hours of full sun.
PPA (power purchase agreement): A contract where a company owns the system and you pay for the electricity it produces at a set price per kWh, often rising each year.
PTO (permission to operate): The utility’s final go-ahead to switch on a grid-connected system. Running a system before PTO can violate your utility agreement.
Round-trip efficiency: The share of energy you get back out of a battery compared with what went in. About 90% is typical for home lithium batteries.
Solar lease: A contract where a company owns the panels on your roof and you pay a fixed monthly amount, often with a yearly increase (escalator), usually for 20–25 years.
Specific yield: Yearly energy a solar system produces per kW of capacity, in kWh/kW. It depends on sunshine, tilt, direction and shade. Sunny Southwest roofs often reach 1,600–1,800; cloudier northern roofs 1,100–1,300.
Time-of-use (TOU) rate: An electricity plan where the price per kWh changes by time of day, with the highest prices in late afternoon and evening. Batteries save money by covering those peak hours.
True-up: The annual settlement on a net metering or net billing account. Charges and credits from the past 12 months are totaled, and you pay any balance owed. Leftover credits may be paid out at a low rate or lost.
Usable capacity: The share of a battery’s energy you can actually draw. Spec sheets list it in kWh; compare usable, not total, capacity between batteries.

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