Does home solar pay for itself?
Straight numbers on home solar, batteries and your power bill. Put in your bill, get a system size and a payback figured on the gross installed price, then read the briefing behind every number.
Start with the question you came with
- 01Getting Started
Solar Panel Installation: How to Go Solar (7 Steps)
Solar panel installation, end to end: how to go solar in seven steps, from roof fit check to install day and utility turn-on, and the numbers to run yourself.
- 02Cost
How Much Do Solar Panels Cost in 2026?
This briefing prices home solar at roughly $2.50 to $3.50 per watt installed, with no federal residential credit left to subtract, plus the payback math.
- 03Batteries
Are Solar Batteries Worth It? The Payback Math
Are solar batteries worth it? It depends on your utility's rules. This briefing runs the honest math: cost, net metering, payback, backup value, and sizing.
- 04Batteries
Tesla Powerwall Cost: Powerwall 3 Price and Install
Tesla Powerwall cost, priced honestly: the illustrative hardware price, the fully installed total, the installation slice on its own, and what moves it.
- 05Payback
Solar Panel Payback Period: When Do They Pay Off?
Solar panel payback period, worked out: with no federal credit, break-even lands near 10 to 15 years. See the formula, the variables, and the 25-year net.
- 06Sizing
How Many Solar Panels Do You Need for a House?
This briefing turns your kilowatt-hours, sun hours and roof into a real panel count: the sizing formula worked in full, roof-fit limits, and one full example.
- 07Getting Started
How to Read a Solar Quote (7 Steps)
This field guide shows how to read a solar proposal in seven steps: system size, price per watt, production, payment terms, and red flags before you sign.
Three rules we apply to every figure on the site
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Newest briefings
Newest briefingSolar Shingles Cost: Solar Roof vs Panels
This cost breakdown prices a solar shingle roof against panels plus a new roof, applies no federal credit to any figure, and shows what the premium buys.
Ground Mount Solar Cost vs a Roof System
This cost breakdown prices a ground mount against a roof system, from racking and concrete to the trench, and shows what better tilt and access really repay.
How to Test Solar Panel Output (6 Steps)
This walkthrough tests solar panel output in six steps, from reading the module label to measuring voltage and current safely and knowing when to call a pro.
Is There a Solar Tax Credit in 2026? What Changed
This briefing covers what happened to the federal solar tax credit, why a 2026 installation cannot claim it, and how to find the incentives that do remain.
How Do Solar Panels Work? Sunlight to Outlet
This explainer traces how solar panels work end to end: sunlight into silicon, cells into modules, DC into AC, and the meter that decides what you keep.
Solar Attic Fan Cost and Payback
This breakdown prices solar attic fans by mounting type, sizes one against attic volume and air changes, and shows why your intake vents decide the payback.
Solar Pool Heating Cost: Is It Worth It?
This cost breakdown prices solar pool heating against gas and heat pump heaters, sizes the collector to your pool, and runs payback on the fuel you displace.
What Are SRECs? Selling Solar Credits
This explainer covers what SRECs are, how a state renewable standard mints the certificate, why it sells apart from your power, and what the income is worth.
Solar Loans Explained: Terms and Traps
This breakdown shows how a solar loan is really priced: the dealer fee buried in the cash price, the payment that re-amortizes, and how to compare total cost.
We do the boring math so a salesperson can't do it for you
Solar quotes are designed to be confusing. WattBarn exists to make them legible: what a system should cost, what it should save, and how long payback really takes in your state.
- The arithmetic is on the page. Every calculator result opens into the steps that produced it, including the electricity rate, sun hours, derate and cost per watt we used. If you disagree with an assumption you can see exactly which one to change.
- Costs are gross installed prices. No figure anywhere on this site subtracts a federal residential tax credit, because there is none left to subtract for systems placed in service from 2026 onward.
- How this site is funded. This site carries no affiliate links and no advertising. No link earns a commission. It never changes the numbers in the calculator or which products a guide recommends. The full explanation is on the disclosure page.
Every number on the site is illustrative. No figure anywhere on WattBarn applies a federal residential tax credit: the Residential Clean Energy Credit under IRC section 25D was terminated by Public Law 119-21 and is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025, with the test being when the original installation was completed rather than when it was ordered, contracted or paid for. State and utility programs vary by location, so take those to your own utility or state energy office and your own tax position to a qualified tax professional.
Get a solar cost breakdown by email
Tell us about your home and we will email you a breakdown of what a system sized to a bill like yours typically costs, and how long it takes to pay back. We are not an installer or a broker, we do not sell systems, and we cannot quote your roof.