Is community solar available in my state?

This tool cannot tell you. Community solar programs are created by state policy, and the authoritative sources are NREL’s state policy dataset and your own state regulator, both linked below. We do not publish a state table we cannot retrieve and re-verify.

Why does moving in three years matter so much?

A rooftop array is a 25-year asset attached to a building, so a move inside five years subtracts four points from the rooftop case, more than any single factor adds. Solar can raise a sale price, but that is less certain than a payback you collect yourself, particularly with a loan or lease attached.

I rent. Is rooftop impossible?

Not impossible, but it needs the roof owner to agree, and the benefit flows to whoever holds the meter. Some landlords do install. In practice this is the circumstance community solar was designed for, which is why it is treated as a blocker here rather than a heavy negative.

My roof needs replacing in three years. What should I do?

Re-roof first, then decide. The tool returns "both are live options" for exactly this case because it is a sequencing problem, not a disqualification. Installing over a roof near end of life means paying to remove and refit the array later, which is a real and avoidable cost.

Why is 30% shading a blocker but 20% is not?

Shade is not a smooth gradient. Below roughly 15% a normal design absorbs it; between 15 and 30 it costs real output and should change the sizing; above 30 a design stops working around it, whatever the panel electronics. Our shade analysis shows where two independent sources land on that threshold.

Does community solar save money?

Only if the subscription costs less than the bill credit it generates, which varies by program and provider. A subscription costing more than its credit leaves you worse off, and some contracts carry escalators. Two of the four state statutes we read make overcharging unlawful. Read the pricing term.

In some programs yes, in others a rooftop system disqualifies you from subscribing, and in others the bill credits interact awkwardly. This is program-specific and is one of the first things to ask a provider. The tool does not model it.

Why publish the weights?

A suitability screen is an editorial judgment written as arithmetic, so the arithmetic should be visible. With the weights published you can see that a three-year horizon costs rooftop four points, and decide whether that is too harsh. A hidden score asks you to trust a conclusion you cannot inspect.

I live in a condo. How should I answer the ownership question?

Answer "own", but treat the result cautiously. A shared roof involves the association, the governing documents, and possibly a vote: obstacles this screen does not model. Our condo and shared roof piece covers what stands in the way.

HyreSolar tools

Rooftop or community solar: which fits you?

Screens the half of the question that depends on you: roof, shade, time in the house and cash. Your state’s program rules decide the other half.

Checked September 3, 2026. Data as of September 5, 2026. HyreSolar sells and installs nothing.

How long you will stay in the house is the input that flips this screen. A homeowner with a 15-year roof, 10% shade and 15 years ahead screens as rooftop, 7 to 0.

Make them move in three years and it inverts to community solar, 3 to 1, because the screen counts a stay under five years against owning panels.

Screen your situation

Five facts about your home and plans. Every factor that moves the answer is named, and nothing is stored or emailed.

Example values The filled-in numbers are an example, not your home. Type over them with your own.

— Screening verdict

— What to do next

— Blockers found

— Pushing toward rooftop

— Pushing toward community

— Weights

How this result was worked out

Working it out from the numbers above.

Screens your circumstances, not what your state offers. Availability is a separate question.

HyreSolar does not sell systems and does not broker community solar subscriptions.

How to read the verdict

The verdict is a reading of your circumstances, not of your state. If it says community solar and your state has no program, the conclusion is that neither option fits well right now, not that you should force a rooftop system onto a roof or a timeline that does not suit it.

Availability is the first thing to check after reading this, and it is the one thing this tool cannot tell you.

Every factor is listed, so disagree with a step rather than a score. If you think a three-year move horizon should not weigh as heavily as it does here, you can see exactly where it entered and adjust your own conclusion.

A tool that hands you a number with no working is asking for trust it has not earned.

"Both are live options" is a real answer. The verdict means something is close or fixable, such as a roof near the end of its life, where the sequence is re-roof first, then decide. It is not the tool failing to reach a conclusion.

Rooftop looks the better fit: You own a suitable roof and your timeline covers a payback. Ask installers for written proposals, and use community solar as the comparison case rather than dismissing it.
Both are live options: Something is close, or something is fixable. Read which factors landed on each side. A roof nearing replacement is one cause, and it has an obvious sequence.
Community solar, if your state offers it: A blocker was found: you rent, or shading is beyond what a rooftop design works around. Check your state program before spending time on rooftop quotes.

Where to find each number

Where each input comes from, so nothing is a guess.

1. Say whether you own or rent

A hard blocker. Rooftop solar needs the roof owner’s agreement, and for a renter that can end the conversation whatever else is true.

Where to find it: You know this one. If you own a condo or are in an HOA, answer own, but read our note in the FAQ, because shared roofs are their own problem.

2. Estimate years of roof life left

Panels last far longer than a worn roof, and taking an array off and putting it back to re-roof underneath costs real money. A worn roof means "not yet" rather than "no".

Where to find it: A roofer can tell you in one visit. Failing that, the install date and the shingle warranty bracket it. See re-roofing before solar.

3. Estimate your shading loss

The share of potential output lost to shade across a year, not the share of the roof that looks shaded at noon. These are very different numbers.

Where to find it: A site survey measures it properly. As a rough guide, our shade analysis covers the threshold where two independent sources both land.

4. Say how long you plan to stay

The input with the heaviest weight in this screen. A rooftop system is a long-horizon asset attached to a building you may not keep.

Where to find it: Your own plans. If unsure, run it twice at the optimistic and pessimistic ends and see whether the verdict changes.

5. Say whether capital is available

A community subscription can need no money up front and no loan. An owned rooftop system needs one or the other.

Where to find it: Your own position. Note that "no capital" does not mean rooftop is impossible: it means the comparison is against a financed system, which our dealer fee calculator covers.

6. Then go and check availability

This tool deliberately does not know whether your state has a program. That is a question for your state regulator or NREL, and the sources below link to both.

Where to find it: Your state public utility commission, or NREL’s state policy dataset. Both are linked in the sources.

How the calculator works it out

1
Look for hard blockers first
Renting, or shading heavy enough that a rooftop design cannot work around it. A blocker settles the verdict on its own.
2
Weigh the factors on each side
Each circumstance adds a stated weight to rooftop or to community, and short horizons subtract from rooftop rather than only adding to community.
3
Compare the totals
A lead of two or more decides it. Anything closer is reported as both being live, because a one-point lead is not a real distinction.
4
Name every factor
The output lists what pushed each way, so the reasoning is auditable rather than asserted.

The formula, in full. Blockers (renting, shading ≥30%) decide alone. Otherwise: community gains 3 for a move inside 5 years, 3 for a roof under 5 years, 2 for no capital, 2 for 15–29% shading.

Rooftop gains 2 for staying 10+ years, 2 for a roof over 10 years, 1 each for ownership, low shade and available capital, and loses 4 for a move inside 5 years, 2 for a roof under 5 years. A lead of 2 or more decides.

A worked example, start to finish

A homeowner with a good roof and a long horizon, then the same homeowner with one thing changed.

Step	Value
Ownership	Owns the home
Roof life remaining	15 years
Shading loss	10%
Years staying	15
Capital	Available or financeable
Rooftop score	7
Community score	0
Result	Rooftop looks the better fit, 7 to 0

Nothing pushes toward community: they own a roof with life in it, the shade is low, and the timeline covers a payback.

Now change one input, a move in three years, and the verdict inverts to community solar, 3 to 1. The roof did not change, the shade did not change, the capital did not change.

A move inside five years subtracts four points from the rooftop case, because a rooftop array is a long-horizon asset bolted to a building you are about to sell, and what it does to a sale price is a separate and much less certain question.

How the answer moves

One owner-occupier profile, one input changed at a time. Every verdict is computed by the tool on this page.

Change	Verdict	Score
Base caseowns, 15-yr roof, 10% shade, staying 15 yr, capital available	Rooftop looks the better fit	rooftop 7 / community 0
Renting instead of owning	Community solar, if your state offers it	rooftop 6 / community 4
Moving in 3 years	Community solar looks the better fit	rooftop 1 / community 3
Roof has 3 years left	Both are live options	rooftop 3 / community 3
35% shading	Community solar, if your state offers it	rooftop 6 / community 4
20% shading	Rooftop looks the better fit	rooftop 6 / community 2
No capital available	Rooftop looks the better fit	rooftop 6 / community 2
Moving in 3 years and no capital	Community solar looks the better fit	rooftop 0 / community 5
Renter, 20% shade, moving in 2 years	Community solar, if your state offers it	rooftop −2 / community 11

Two rows are worth reading against each other. 20% shading still favors rooftop; 35% is a blocker. Shade is not a slider that gradually rules solar out: there is a point at which a design stops working around it.

And note that "no capital" alone does not flip the verdict: financing exists, so a lack of cash is a reason to scrutinize a loan, not a reason to abandon an owned system.

What moves this number most

Ranked, largest first. A proposal can change any of these without saying anything untrue, so check these inputs first.

1. How long you are staying

The heaviest weight in this screen. A move inside five years subtracts four points from rooftop, more than any single factor adds to it. A rooftop array is a 25-year asset; a three-year horizon is a mismatch no proposal can fix.

2. Whether you own the roof

A hard blocker when you do not. Community solar exists in large part for households that rent, for whom rooftop was never available.

3. Shading, past a threshold

Not a gradient. Below 15% a normal design copes; between 15 and 30 it costs you real output; above 30 it is a blocker. Panel-level electronics change the shape of this but do not repeal it.

4. Roof age

A not-yet more than a no. A roof with under five years left means re-roof first, which is a sequencing problem rather than a disqualification.

5. Capital

The weakest factor in the model, deliberately. Financing exists, so the absence of cash changes which rooftop product you are comparing rather than whether rooftop is possible.

6. What is deliberately absent

Availability in your state, subscription pricing, escalators in subscription contracts, bill credit rates, cancellation terms, waiting lists, low-income carve-outs, and whether your utility participates at all. Every one of those matters and none of them can be screened from five personal circumstances.

Common mistakes with this calculation

Reading this as an availability check
This screen has no knowledge of your state. Community solar programs are created by state policy and run by utilities and third parties, so check availability with your state regulator.
Treating community solar as one product
State statutes create materially different products under one name, with different bill credit mechanisms, cancellation rights and consumer protections. Our statute-level comparison reads four of them in full.
Assuming a subscription is always cheaper
A subscription that costs more than the bill credit it generates leaves you worse off, and some contracts carry escalators. Two of the statutes we read make it unlawful to charge more than the credit is worth; the other two do not. Read the pricing term, not the marketing.
Ignoring the roof-age answer
When the tool says both are live because your roof has three years left, the sequence matters: re-roof, then decide. Installing an array over a roof that needs replacing means paying to remove and refit it.
Estimating shade by eye at noon
Shading loss is an annual output figure, not a visual impression on a summer afternoon. Winter sun is low and the shadows are long. A site survey measures it; a glance does not.
Assuming solar always raises a sale price
It is the assumption people use to justify a rooftop system on a short horizon, and it is much less certain than it is made to sound, particularly with a loan or a lease attached. See what solar does to resale value.

What this calculator leaves out

The result is a planning estimate. A real proposal accounts for these; this page does not.

Not an availability lookup.
HyreSolar publishes no state-by-state community solar table. Availability is set by state program rules: check your state regulator or NREL.
Screens your circumstances only.
Subscription pricing, escalators, bill credit rates, cancellation terms and waiting lists are all outside it and all matter.
Weights are a stated editorial judgment, published in full above so you can disagree with a specific step.
Treats condo and HOA ownership as ownership, which materially understates the difficulty of a shared roof.
Does not model your electricity usage, your rate, or the economics of either option.
Use the savings and payback tools for that.
Says nothing about any specific community solar provider, and HyreSolar does not sell or broker subscriptions.

The research behind these numbers

Community solar versus rooftop, statute by statuteThe companion piece. Four state statutes read in full, showing how differently the same product name behaves. Read this before subscribing to anything.Read the research Solar options for rentersWhat is available when you do not own the roof.Read the research Re-roofing before solarThe sequencing problem behind the "both are live options" verdict, and what removal and refit costs.Read the research Shade and solar outputWhere the 15% and 30% thresholds in this tool come from, and why panel-level electronics do not repeal them.Read the research Solar and resale valueAn assumption used to justify rooftop on a short horizon, examined.Read the research Condos and shared roofsThe ownership case this screen treats as "own" but which behaves nothing like a detached house.Read the research Dealer fee calculatorIf the answer is rooftop and the route is a loan, check what rate you are actually paying.Read the research

Questions this calculator answers

Is community solar available in my state?: This tool cannot tell you. Community solar programs are created by state policy, and the authoritative sources are NREL’s state policy dataset and your own state regulator, both linked below. We do not publish a state table we cannot retrieve and re-verify.
Why does moving in three years matter so much?: A rooftop array is a 25-year asset attached to a building, so a move inside five years subtracts four points from the rooftop case, more than any single factor adds. Solar can raise a sale price, but that is less certain than a payback you collect yourself, particularly with a loan or lease attached.
I rent. Is rooftop impossible?: Not impossible, but it needs the roof owner to agree, and the benefit flows to whoever holds the meter. Some landlords do install. In practice this is the circumstance community solar was designed for, which is why it is treated as a blocker here rather than a heavy negative.
My roof needs replacing in three years. What should I do?: Re-roof first, then decide. The tool returns "both are live options" for exactly this case because it is a sequencing problem, not a disqualification. Installing over a roof near end of life means paying to remove and refit the array later, which is a real and avoidable cost.
Why is 30% shading a blocker but 20% is not?: Shade is not a smooth gradient. Below roughly 15% a normal design absorbs it; between 15 and 30 it costs real output and should change the sizing; above 30 a design stops working around it, whatever the panel electronics. Our shade analysis shows where two independent sources land on that threshold.
Does community solar save money?: Only if the subscription costs less than the bill credit it generates, which varies by program and provider. A subscription costing more than its credit leaves you worse off, and some contracts carry escalators. Two of the four state statutes we read make overcharging unlawful. Read the pricing term.
Can I do both?: In some programs yes, in others a rooftop system disqualifies you from subscribing, and in others the bill credits interact awkwardly. This is program-specific and is one of the first things to ask a provider. The tool does not model it.
Why publish the weights?: A suitability screen is an editorial judgment written as arithmetic, so the arithmetic should be visible. With the weights published you can see that a three-year horizon costs rooftop four points, and decide whether that is too harsh. A hidden score asks you to trust a conclusion you cannot inspect.
I live in a condo. How should I answer the ownership question?: Answer "own", but treat the result cautiously. A shared roof involves the association, the governing documents, and possibly a vote: obstacles this screen does not model. Our condo and shared roof piece covers what stands in the way.

Sources and methodology

Figures dated September 5, 2026. Last reviewed September 3, 2026 by the HyreSolar research desk, which writes and checks every tool on this site.

State Policies and Programs for Community Solar (NREL Data Catalog, retrieved September 5, 2026). The authoritative source for which states have enabling policies, updated several times a year. Named here as the place to check availability, which this tool deliberately does not attempt.
Community Solar: State, Local and Tribal Governments (NREL, retrieved September 5, 2026). Program design background and the distinction between deployment and enabling policy.
Community solar versus rooftop, statute by statute (HyreSolar Research Desk, retrieved September 5, 2026). Our own reading of four state community solar statutes in full. Source for the statement that two of them make it unlawful to charge more than the bill credit is worth.
Shade and solar output (HyreSolar Research Desk, retrieved September 5, 2026). Source for the shading thresholds used as weights and as a blocker in this screen.

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