See if your roof is a good solar candidate
— and what it'd shave off your charging bill.
Enter your address. We'll pull real satellite imagery, grade your rooftop, and show how much solar would cut the electric bill you're already paying to charge at home.
6 things every EV owner should know before going solar
You already made the biggest switch. Here's how solar actually stacks on top — and when it doesn't.
Your EV already makes solar more valuable
A non-EV household uses ~900 kWh/month. Adding an EV bumps that to ~1,200 kWh or more — meaning every panel you install offsets more electricity at retail rate. That's why EV owners hit solar payback 2–4 years faster than everyone else.
Net metering is your free EV battery
You don't need a $15k Powerwall to charge overnight. With net metering, your daytime solar pushes to the grid and you pull cheap power back when you plug in at night. The grid acts as your free battery — except in California's NEM 3.0, where the math changes.
Financing matters more than ever in 2026
The 30% residential solar credit (Section 25D) expired Dec 31, 2025. Cash and loan buyers get no federal credit in 2026+. But PPA and lease installers still claim the commercial 48E credit and pass 15–25% through as a lower per-kWh rate — making $0-down options unusually competitive vs. cash right now.
Check if your utility has an EV TOU plan
Many utilities offer EV time-of-use rates with super-cheap overnight charging (under $0.10/kWh in some states). Pair TOU with solar and you're producing at peak rate, charging at off-peak rate, and arbitraging the spread. Toggle the TOU option in the calculator to model it.
A typical 7–8 kW system covers home + EV
The average American drives 37 miles a day, which needs ~11 kWh of charging. A 7–8 kW rooftop system produces 30+ kWh/day in summer — enough to cover home electricity AND EV charging, with surplus to bank against cloudy days.
Your home value goes up — and isn't taxed on it
Berkeley Lab research shows solar adds ~$15k to typical home resale value. In 30+ states (FL, TX, NY, CA, NJ, CO) that added value is exempt from property tax — so your equity goes up without a higher tax bill.
Best states for EV + solar in 2026
Where the incentive stack, electricity rates, and sunshine hours line up best.
California
Highest gas prices + highest sun hours = #1 ROI for EV+solar combo. Pair with TOU rates and a battery for maximum savings.
Texas
ERCOT volatility makes self-generation valuable. Excellent sun + cheap installs = fast payback even with lower rates.
Arizona
Best sunshine in the country. APS and SRP both offer EV time-of-use rates that pair perfectly with rooftop solar.
Florida
Hurricane-prone — solar + battery = grid resilience. No state income tax credit but strong utility net metering still in place.
New York
Highest stacked incentives in the Northeast. NYSERDA programs + Drive Clean rebate + federal 30% = under 7-year payback.
Massachusetts
High electricity rates make every kWh of self-generation valuable. SMART payments add another ~$0.30/kWh on top.
New Jersey
TRECs add steady cash flow on top of net metering. EV is sales-tax exempt — saves another ~$2,500 on a $40k EV.
Colorado
$5k state EV credit + Xcel Solar*Rewards still stack up to a meaningful discount on a typical EV + 8 kW solar project.
Frequently asked questions
Is my house a good candidate for solar?
I already drive an EV. How much would solar save me on charging?
How long does solar take to pay back for an EV owner?
Do I need a home battery to pair with my EV and solar?
Is the federal solar tax credit still available in 2026?
How does this calculator grade my rooftop?
How we calculate every number on this page
Rooftop solar potential: Google Solar API (Building Insights) when high-quality imagery is available, else NREL PVWatts v8 with TMY3 weather data. System sizing assumes 400W panels at $3.00/watt installed (2024–25 NREL/EnergySage residential average).
Electricity & gas prices: Live national averages from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). You can override with your local rate using the sliders.
EV consumption & maintenance: EPA fleet average of 3.3 mi/kWh with 85% home charging share per DOE survey. Maintenance delta of $0.04/mi (ICE $0.10/mi vs EV $0.06/mi) per AAA 2023 Your Driving Costs study.
Net metering: Traditional retail net metering assumed by default. California addresses use NEM 3.0 logic — surplus is credited at the avoided-cost rate (~$0.06/kWh), not retail, so a battery is typically needed to capture full solar value.
Lifetime projection: 25-year panel lifetime, 0.5% annual degradation, 2.5% annual electricity inflation (50-year historical average). The 30% residential solar tax credit (Section 25D) expired Dec 31, 2025 and is not applied to cash/loan purchases in 2026+. PPA and lease pricing assumes the installer passes through ~25% of the commercial 48E credit.
This tool produces estimates only — actual savings depend on installer pricing, roof condition, shading, your state's net metering policy, and weather variability. Always get multiple quotes before buying.
Last updated: April 2026. Assumptions refreshed quarterly — cost-per-watt from NREL/EnergySage benchmarks, electricity and gas prices from EIA live averages, tax credit status reflects the One Big Beautiful Bill (Section 25D expired Dec 31, 2025; Section 48E still in force for commercially-owned systems).
Solar for EV owners — why the math is better than you think
If you already drive electric, you made the single biggest fuel-cost cut a household can make. Solar is the natural next step: it takes the electric bill you're already paying to charge and cuts it 60–90%. And because EV owners use more electricity than non-EV homes, every panel you install offsets more kWh at retail rate — which is why EV owners hit solar payback 2–4 years faster than typical households.
Is your house a good solar candidate?
Four factors drive the answer: usable roof area, sun hours, imagery quality (shading and tilt), and your state's incentive stack. Instead of making you guess, the calculator above pulls real satellite imagery of your specific roof and grades all four — then gives you a single verdict (Excellent, Good, Fair, or Marginal) before showing any dollar math. That's the honest question most EV owners are trying to answer.
How much will solar actually save on your charging bill?
A typical EV household spends $150–$250/month on electricity once home charging is included. Adding a 7–8 kW solar system in a sunny state typically cuts 60–90% of that — $1,500–$2,500 per year — depending on your state's net metering rules. In California (NEM 3.0), surplus exports only credit at ~$0.06/kWh, so pairing with a home battery matters more. In states with full retail net metering, you can skip the battery and use the grid as your free overnight storage for the EV.
What happened to the 30% federal solar tax credit?
The 30% residential solar credit (IRS Section 25D) expired on December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill. Cash and loan purchases of residential solar installed in 2026+ receive no direct federal credit. Systems placed in service before Dec 31, 2025 can still claim the credit on their 2025 tax return.
The credit is still available indirectly: third-party owned systems (PPA and lease) qualify for the commercial Section 48E credit, and installers pass 15–25% of that value through as a lower per-kWh rate. That's why $0-down PPA offers are more competitive against cash than they've been in years — worth modeling both options in the calculator above.
State and utility incentives stack on top
Beyond the expired federal credit, many states still layer their own programs: New York gives a 25% state credit, Massachusetts has the SMART production-payment program, Illinois pays out SRECs over 15 years, and Colorado offers a $5k state EV tax credit on top of Xcel's Solar*Rewards. The right combo can still knock $5,000–$10,000 off your effective project cost — see the state spotlight above for what's available in your state.
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