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Solar Savings Calculator: Estimate Your Solar ROI in Florida
See your estimated bill savings, payback period and 30-year return in seconds. No email or phone number required.
Estimate Your Solar Savings
Straight answer
How Much Can Solar Save in Florida?
It depends on your usage, electricity rate, system size and financing. Enter your bill below and the calculator models year-by-year savings, loan payments and maintenance over 30 years, then shows your payback year and net benefit.
- Projection
- 30 years
- Year-by-year table and CSV download
- Residential credit
- $0 in 2026
- Section 25D ended after 2025
- Commercial
- ITC and MACRS
- Modeled as conditional scenarios
- Personal info
- Not required
- Results show instantly
How Much Can Solar Panels Save in Florida?
Solar panel savings in Florida come down to four things: how much electricity you use, what your utility charges per kWh, how much your system produces, and how the utility credits the energy you send back to the grid. A home that uses a lot of power for air conditioning and pool equipment usually has more to save than a small, efficient home on the same rate.
Florida's sunshine helps. A well-placed array in the state commonly produces around 1,400 kWh per installed kW each year, which is the default production assumption in the calculator. Roof direction, tilt and shade can move that number up or down, so a real proposal from a site survey is always the best input.
How Does the Solar Savings Calculator Work?
The calculator estimates your yearly usage from your bill, or uses the kWh you enter. It multiplies system size by the Florida production assumption, then reduces production slightly each year for panel degradation. Under net metering, solar energy offsets your usage at the retail rate up to your annual consumption; anything beyond that earns a much lower excess credit. Fixed customer charges stay on your bill, because solar cannot remove them.
It then builds a 30-year table: your utility cost without solar, your cost with solar, your savings, loan payments, maintenance and cumulative cash flow. Actual results vary with your utility's billing rules, future rates, weather and how you use power, so treat the output as a planning estimate.
What Is the Payback Period for Solar Panels?
Payback is the first year your cumulative savings cover everything you have spent on the system. With a cash purchase, you pay the full cost on day one and every year of savings works toward payback. With a solar loan, you spend less upfront but make monthly payments, so payback reflects your down payment, the loan payments and your savings together. A loan with payments close to your savings can feel cash-flow neutral early on but often produces a lower net benefit over 30 years because of interest.
How Do Rising Electricity Rates Affect Solar Savings?
When utility rates go up, every kWh your panels produce is worth more, so savings grow over time. The calculator starts with a 4.5% annual increase, but that is an adjustable assumption, not a prediction. Rates can rise faster, slower or stay flat for a period. Try 0%, 2% and 4.5% to see how sensitive your result is.
Solar Tax Credits in 2026
For homeowners, the federal Section 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025. A new residential solar installation in 2026 does not receive that credit, so the calculator includes $0 in residential tax credits.
Businesses are treated differently. The Section 48E clean electricity investment credit can still apply to commercial solar, but new rules tie eligibility to dates: solar facilities that begin construction after July 4, 2026 generally must be placed in service by December 31, 2027. Labor, domestic content and ownership rules also matter. That is why the calculator shows any commercial credit only as a conditional scenario with an eligibility status.
Can You Depreciate Solar Panels?
Depreciation is a business deduction. Solar used in a trade or business, such as on a commercial building or rental property, can be depreciated under the 5-year MACRS schedule, and property acquired after January 19, 2025 may qualify for 100% bonus depreciation. If an investment credit is claimed, the depreciable basis is generally reduced by half the credit.
Ordinary personal-use residential solar generally does not qualify, because the property is not used for business. Deductions also reduce taxable income rather than paying cash, and you may not be able to use them all in one year. A CPA should confirm your situation.
Why Choose Coastal Energy?
Coastal Energy has installed solar across Florida since 2019, with more than 1,000 solar systems and more than 3,000 Tesla Powerwall installs. We are a licensed Florida certified contractor (CCC1335978) and electrical contractor (EC13013993), Veteran Owned and Women Owned, and BBB Accredited with an A+ rating. We design every system around your real usage, roof and utility rules.
Answers
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Money Can Solar Panels Save in Florida?
Are Solar Panels Worth It in Florida in 2026?
Can Homeowners Depreciate Solar Panels?
What Is the Commercial Solar Investment Tax Credit?
Do Solar Panels Eliminate Your Electricity Bill?
How Long Does It Take for Solar Panels to Pay for Themselves?
Is the Federal Solar Tax Credit Still Available?
Can Businesses Claim Solar Depreciation?
How Do Solar Loans Affect ROI?
How Accurate Is a Solar Savings Calculator?
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See What Solar Could Save You
Your estimate is a starting point. Coastal Energy can design a system based on your actual electricity usage, roof, equipment preferences, and utility requirements.