Home solar savings calculator

Estimate what your solar production is worth using your utility rate, home electricity use, and export credits.

Your home and solar system

Use your bill or monitoring app when possible.

Electric utility

Roof direction

Solar system size6 kW

2 kW15 kW

Average monthly electricity use900 kWh

200 kWh2,500 kWh

Solar production used at home60%

10%100%

South-facing regional yield per kW1,100 kWh

800 kWh1,900 kWh

Solar export credit

$/kWh

No export rate is stored for this utility, so the estimate starts at $0. Enter the rate from your tariff.

Your solar results

$1,091estimated value/year

About $91/month from avoided electricity purchases and export credits.

Annual solar production

6,600 kWh

Home usage covered

37%

Export credits

$0/yr

Where your solar goesAnnual energy

Used by your home3,960 kWh

Exported to the grid2,640 kWh

Grid electricity remaining6,840 kWh

Annual valueAmount

Avoided utility purchases$1,091

Solar export credits$0

Total solar value$1,091

Self-consumed solar is worth 27.5¢/kWh

That is 27.5¢/kWh more than exporting at 0.0¢/kWh. Using solar at home generally creates more value under these assumptions.

Estimated minimum monthly bill: $12

Typical connection / customer charge estimate — even with $0 usage, fixed fees and taxes usually remain. Confirm on your bill.

With 3% annual rate increases, year-10 value ≈ $1,466

Today's annual value is $1,091. Rising rates make each avoided kilowatt-hour more valuable over time.

Panels alone do not power your home in an outage

Grid-tied solar shuts down when the grid is down unless you add battery backup designed for islanding.

Want payback with inflation and EV?

Model system cost, rate increases, EV vs gasoline, minimum bills, and future electrification sizing.

Open solar payback calculator →

Track my real solar savings View PSE&G rates

Planning assumptions

This planning estimate uses an adjustable regional production yield and the utility rates shown above. It does not include installation cost, financing, incentives, shading, degradation, or hourly load matching. For a load-by-load kWh estimate first, use the electricity usage calculator. For payback with rate inflation and EV impact, use the solar payback calculator.

Approximately 15 400-watt panels. Check the official PSE&G tariff

How solar creates value

Solar used immediately by your home replaces electricity bought at the retail rate. Excess solar sent to the grid earns an export credit. This calculator values those two destinations separately instead of assuming every solar kilowatt-hour is worth the same amount.

Annual solar value = self-consumed production × avoided utility rate + exported production × export credit.

Frequently asked questions

How much money can solar panels save per year?

Annual value depends on solar production, electricity rates, household usage, and export compensation. Solar used at home avoids retail electricity purchases, while excess production earns the utility's export credit. For a load-by-load kWh estimate before sizing solar, use Gleam's electricity usage calculator.

Is solar power used at home worth more than exported solar?

Usually, but not always. Self-consumed solar is worth the electricity price you avoid. Exported solar is worth the utility's export credit. The difference between those rates determines which is more valuable.

Does this calculator estimate installation payback?

No. It estimates ongoing annual energy value. For payback with rate inflation, EV impact, incentives, and system cost, use Gleam's solar payback calculator.

Does the public calculator use PVWatts?

It uses an adjustable regional planning estimate so no address or account is required. Gleam can use location-based PVWatts estimates inside the personalized product when location and system details are available.