Solar vs Paying the Utility: Which Is Right for Your Home
Written by HyreSolar Research Desk Primary-source research and fact checking
Quick answer
Solar vs Paying the Utility comes down to upfront cost, lifetime savings and how long you plan to stay in the home; here is each factor side by side.
Staying with the utility costs nothing upfront and exposes you to every future rate change.
Solar swaps part of that bill for either an installed price (buying) or a contract payment (lease or PPA).
It wins when the electricity the panels produce, valued at what your utility would have charged or credited you, exceeds that cost over the years you stay.
In 2026 the arithmetic is harder than it was: the 30 percent homeowner credit ended on December 31, 2025, and many utilities credit exports below retail.
Cost side by side
Installed prices as other publishers state them, gross of incentives. Each range is the median published low to the median published high across at least 12 dated sources, retrieved October 21–22, 2026; the source rows sit on the linked cost page.
| Option | Published range | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Going solar: typical installed system | $22,100–$27,500 | 14 dated |
| Installed price per watt | $2.58/W–$3.36/W | 21 dated |
No 30% federal credit is subtracted: Section 25D ended for expenditures after December 31, 2025.
Solar vs the utility bill, side by side
| Go solar (buy) | Keep paying the utility | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront | Installed price, no federal credit | None |
| Rate exposure | Only for kWh you still import | Every kWh |
| Recent price trend | Locked in at installation for owned output | U.S. residential average 18.31 ¢/kWh in July 2026, up from 17.45 ¢ a year earlier (EIA) |
| Fixed charges | Still paid | Paid |
| Outage protection | Only with a battery | None |
| Maintenance | Yours: inverter replacement, roof work around panels | None |
| Moving | System transfers with the house | Nothing to transfer |
Source for price trend: EIA Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A (preliminary). Price rows: G-COST cells above.
What a solar kWh is worth to you
Not every kWh your panels produce is worth your full rate. The ones you use as they are produced save your marginal rate: the per-kWh energy and delivery charges, not the fixed customer charge.
The ones you export earn whatever your utility’s export rule pays. Under traditional net metering that is close to retail; under net billing it can be much lower. Net metering vs net billing explains the difference, and the net billing calculator measures the gap.
If net metering in your state changes later, existing customers may or may not be protected; what happens if net metering ends covers how grandfathering has worked.
Savings over 25 years
Owning: the 25-year saving is the value of each year’s output, minus the installed price and any financing cost, minus maintenance such as an inverter replacement.
Panels lose a little output each year (see degradation), so later years produce slightly less. The payback year is where cumulative value crosses the price; the payback calculator computes it without the expired credit.
Staying on the utility has no payback to reach and no risk of choosing the wrong installer, but the full bill rises with every rate increase.
The EIA’s latest figures show the national residential average up about 5 percent year on year; rates in your area may move differently, and one year is not a forecast.
Leasing or a PPA sits between the two: no upfront cost, a smaller saving, and a contract that often escalates. See PPA rate vs utility rate for the test.
How long you stay matters most. A purchase that pays back in year 10 is a poor decision for someone moving in year 5 unless the sale price recovers the difference, which the resale evidence does not guarantee.
Which to choose if…
- 1Your roof is sunny, your rate is high and you will stay past the payback year
Solar is likely to beat the utility; get several quotes.
- 2Your utility pays little for exports and you are out during the day
Size the system to your daytime use, or add storage; otherwise the saving shrinks.
- 3You plan to move within a few years or your roof needs replacing soon
Keep paying the utility for now, or replace the roof first.
- 4You cannot install on your roof
Consider community solar.
When you are ready
Ready to explore solar for your home?
If you have done your research and want to speak with a solar professional, HyreSolar can help you explore available options.
Free, with no obligation: a person at HyreSolar reads your request and gets back to you about it. Matching with solar professionals is not live yet, so this is not a quote, and nothing is shared with anyone until you agree.
Keep learningQuestions
Is solar still worth it without the 30% tax credit?
Will solar eliminate my electric bill?
Are utility rates rising?
Sources & retrieval dates
- U.S. EIA, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A , Average U.S. residential price 18.31 cents/kWh in July 2026 against 17.45 cents/kWh in July 2025 (preliminary). Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- Public Law 119-21 , Section 25D terminated for expenditures after December 31, 2025. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- U.S. Department of Energy, Homeowner’s Guide to Going Solar , Leases carry fixed monthly payments based on estimated output; PPAs charge a set price per kilowatt-hour produced; the customer of either does not own the system or its tax benefits. Retrieved 22 October 2026.
HyreSolar does not install, finance or sell solar. This page is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice; terms, prices and rules vary by state, utility and contract.