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Solar in New York
At 29.9¢ per kWh and 1291 kWh of production per kW each year, a household paying $200 a month needs a 5.84 kW system. Paid in cash, it returns its $12,098 cost in 5.7 yr.
Two prices, two answers
Payback 5.7 yr — at competitive quoted prices ($2.76/W, EnergySage 2026): net cost $12,098, 25-year net $52,516.
Payback 9.6 yr — at typical reported prices ($4.50/W, LBNL 2023): net cost $21,300, 25-year net $43,314.
The gap is methodology, not staleness: the first what you get if you shop around for competitive quotes; the second what the average buyer actually paid, as recorded in permit and incentive data. Every table below uses quoted prices. Why we show both.
By monthly bill
| Your bill | Use / yr | System | Panels | Net cost | Payback | 25-yr net (cash) | Lease, year 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $100/mo | 3,532 kWh | 2.74 kW | 7 | $5,663 | 6.1 yr | $21,629 | $465 |
| $150/mo | 5,538 kWh | 4.29 kW | 11 | $8,880 | 5.8 yr | $37,074 | $729 |
| $200/mo | 7,545 kWh | 5.84 kW | 15 | $12,098 | 5.7 yr | $52,516 | $993 |
| $300/mo | 11,559 kWh | 8.95 kW | 23 | $19,711 | 5.9 yr | $82,224 | $1,521 |
Cash, loan or lease — at $200 a month
| How you pay | 25-year net | Upfront | Year 1 | Payback / cash flow | Federal credit to you |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $52,516 | $12,098 | $2,027 | 5.7 yr | $0 |
| Loan $94/mo · 6.99% APR · 20 yr | $42,121 | $0 | $902 | immediate (+$902 in year 1) | $0 |
| Lease / PPA up to $5,000 state credit, accrued over the life of the agreement | $22,015 | $0 | $993 | immediate (+$993 in year 1) | $0 |
The 30% federal credit goes to the system owner, not to you. It is reflected in the rate you are offered. The owner claims it at 30% under IRC 48E.
The inputs, and where they came from
| Input | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Residential electricity rate | 29.9¢/kWh | U.S. EIA API v2, electricity/retail-sales, residential sector, 2026-07 |
| Specific yield | 1291 kWh/kW/yr | NLR (formerly NREL) PVWatts v8 API, 1 kW reference system (state:NY) |
| Installed cost | $2.76/W | EnergySage Marketplace real-quote average, as of Sep 2026; page updated 2026-08-28 · LBNL Tracking the Sun 2023 median: $4.5/W, reference only |
| Export compensation | full retail net metering · 100% | A residential system under 25 kW may still take Phase One net metering, which credits exported kilowatt-hours at the full retail rate; the Value of Distributed Energy Resources value stack is the alternative. Systems interconnected from 1 January 2022 also pay a Customer Benefit Contribution, a monthly charge on the project's DC system size that funds public benefit programmes and is set so that a customer's annual contribution to those programmes is the same with or without solar. CBC rates are published annually by each utility and are not locked in at interconnection. Full retail credit for exports; the CBC is a separate charge on system size, modelled here at Con Edison's 2026 residential rate of $1.13 per kW per month. Follows: Con Edison (the state's largest electric utility). Every utility publishes its own Customer Benefit Contribution rate; the 2026 residential rates range from $0.97 to $1.67 per kW per month. Source, read 2026-09-05. |
| Charge on solar customers | $1.13/kW per month | Not an export haircut: a charge this state's solar customers pay on top. It is on the bill in every figure on this page — about $79 in year one. |
| Federal credit, purchase | 0% | IRC 25D (expired) |
| Federal credit, third-party owner | 30% | IRC 48E (Clean Electricity Investment Credit) |
| State incentives | $4,033 | Solar Energy System Equipment Credit (Form IT-255) (25%, up to $5,000) |