Is solar worth it in Virginia?
Short answer for a typical Virginia home: a reasonable payback if you'll stay put — roughly 11.7 years to break even after the 30% credit. Run your own bill through the calculator below.
Virginia gets moderate sunshine — about 4.4 peak sun hours a day — and residential electricity runs around $0.14/kWh. For a typical $150-a-month power bill, that points to roughly a 10.0-kW system costing about $21,015 after the 30% federal tax credit, paying for itself in about 11.7 years and netting on the order of $40,350 over 25 years. Your own numbers will differ — the calculator above uses your real bill.
Virginia gets decent sun and has net metering plus an SREC market, with rates near the national average. Payback is reasonable, helped most by the 30% federal credit.
What changes the math in Virginia
- Your electricity rate — the more you pay per kWh, the more each solar kWh saves you. Virginia sits at about $0.14.
- Sun hours — more sun means a smaller, cheaper system covers the same usage. Virginia averages ~4.4 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.