Is solar worth it in South Carolina?
Short answer for a typical South Carolina home: a reasonable payback if you'll stay put — roughly 10.2 years to break even after the 30% credit. Run your own bill through the calculator below.
South Carolina gets good sunshine — about 4.7 peak sun hours a day — and residential electricity runs around $0.15/kWh. For a typical $150-a-month power bill, that points to roughly a 8.7-kW system costing about $18,362 after the 30% federal tax credit, paying for itself in about 10.2 years and netting on the order of $43,003 over 25 years. Your own numbers will differ — the calculator above uses your real bill.
South Carolina gets solid sun and has had favorable net metering, making payback competitive. Rates are mid-range, so the federal credit plus full-value net metering carry the savings.
What changes the math in South Carolina
- Your electricity rate — the more you pay per kWh, the more each solar kWh saves you. South Carolina sits at about $0.15.
- Sun hours — more sun means a smaller, cheaper system covers the same usage. South Carolina averages ~4.7 hours.
- Net metering / buyback — how your utility credits power you export swings the payback; check your specific utility's current terms.
- Install cost — quotes vary by installer and roof; the calculator defaults to a typical $/watt you can override.