Is solar worth it for your home? Get the honest number.
Enter your power bill, pick your state, and see your real payback — system size, net cost after the 30% federal credit, and 25-year savings. No phone number, no salesperson, no lead form.
From your bill to your payback in three steps
No research required — we fill in the hard numbers and show every step of the math.
Enter your bill & state
Your monthly power bill and state are all we need — we handle the kWh, sun hours and electricity rate for you.
We size it & apply the credit
We size the system to cover your usage, price it at a typical $/watt, and subtract the 30% federal tax credit.
See payback & get quotes
Get your payback years and 25-year net savings — then compare local installer quotes with a real number in hand.
The honest number, not a sales funnel
Most "free solar" sites are lead forms in disguise. SolarDime is a calculator — the math is transparent and the answer is yours to keep.
No lead form
No phone number, no email, no salesperson calling. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Official data
Sun hours and electricity rates from NREL and EIA averages — not a sales pitch.
Transparent math
Every input is editable and every line of the estimate is shown — no black box.
30% credit applied
The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit is built into your net cost automatically.
Put an honest calculator in front of ready-to-buy homeowners
Installers, EPCs and energy brands use SolarDime as a no-pressure first step. Homeowners get a transparent estimate; you get warmer, better-educated prospects instead of cold form-fills.
- Co-branded & embeddable — run the calculator on your own site or link out to it.
- Warmer leads — homeowners arrive educated, with a payback number already in hand.
- Affiliate & revenue-share friendly — geo-targeted referral traffic on your terms.
Is solar worth it in your state?
How this works
Your electric bill tells us how much power you use. Your state sets two things that make or break solar: how much sun a panel sees (peak sun hours) and how much each kWh you offset is worth (your electricity rate). From those we size the system to cover your usage, multiply by a typical installed cost per watt, and subtract the 30% federal tax credit to get your net price.
Payback is just net cost ÷ what you save each year. We also project 25 years of savings, letting the savings rise with electricity prices and dip slightly as panels age. The result is the honest number the lead-gen sites bury behind a form — no phone number, no salesperson, nothing sent anywhere. Use it to decide whether it's worth getting real quotes.
Common questions
Is solar actually worth it?
Where electricity is expensive and the sun is decent, solar often pays for itself in 6–10 years and then delivers nearly free power for the rest of its ~25-year life. Where power is cheap or sun is scarce, payback stretches past 12–15 years. This tool gives your number so you don't have to guess.
Do I need to know my system size or kWh?
No. Just enter your average monthly bill and state — we work out the usage, the system size, and the cost. If you know your exact rate or have a quote's price-per-watt, pop those in for a sharper estimate.
How does the 30% tax credit work?
The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit returns 30% of your system's cost as a credit on your federal taxes. We subtract it automatically. Some states and utilities add rebates or SREC income on top — add those under "state incentives."
Why no contact form?
Because you shouldn't have to hand over your phone number to find out a number. This is an estimate to help you decide, not a lead form. When you're ready, take it to a few local installers for real quotes.