Solar ROI / Break-even Calculator
Treat solar like the investment it is. Enter your net cost and first-year savings, and see the break-even year, lifetime profit, and total return — with electricity price inflation compounding in your favour.
Break-even in
0 yrs
then it's profit for the rest of the system's life
Estimates only, not financial advice. Ignores panel degradation (~0.5%/yr), maintenance, and the time value of money.
How this solar ROI calculator works
It accumulates savings year by year, growing each year's figure by your electricity inflation rate: savings in year n = year-1 savings × (1 + inflation)ⁿ⁻¹. Break-even is the (fractional) year the running total passes your net cost. Lifetime savings sum every year to the end of the system's life; net profit subtracts the cost; and ROI is net profit ÷ net cost.
This is deliberately simple-but-honest: it excludes panel degradation and discounting, which roughly offset each other at typical values. The one big upside it leaves out entirely is added home value.
Solar ROI FAQ
What is a good ROI for solar panels?
Well-sited residential systems typically return 8–15% a year on the net investment, with lifetime ROI of 150–400% over 25 years where rates are high and sun is decent.
How do I calculate solar break-even?
Accumulate each year's savings — growing with rate inflation — until the total passes your net cost. A $10,000 system saving $1,300 in year one with 3% inflation breaks even in about 7 years.
Why does electricity price inflation matter?
Every year rates rise, the power your panels replace is worth more. At 3% annual inflation, year-15 savings are ~50% larger than year-1 savings — ignoring it understates 25-year returns by thousands.
Does solar increase home value?
Owned systems add roughly 3–4% to sale prices in solar-friendly markets per Zillow and Berkeley Lab research — value not counted here. Leased systems can complicate a sale instead.