Solar Costs & Savings
How Much Does Solar Cost in 2026? Pricing for PA, NJ and DE Homes
Solar pricing depends on your usage, roof, equipment and payment method. See what goes into a quote in PA, NJ and DE and how to get your own number.
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Why Solar Pricing Is Quoted Per Home
You came here for a price. The useful version of that answer is a number built from your house, because a solar system is priced the way a kitchen renovation is priced, not the way a refrigerator is. National averages blend thousands of homes with different roofs, different electricity use and different equipment, so your quote can land well above or below one for perfectly ordinary reasons.
Five things set your price: how much electricity you use, what your roof demands in labor and mounting, the equipment tier your situation calls for, whether your electrical panel needs work, and how you pay for it. This page walks through each one, then covers what a complete quote should show you and how to get yours.
If you are still deciding whether solar fits your home at all, our guide to the pros and cons of solar panels works through the same tradeoffs.
The Five Variables That Build Your Price
1. How much electricity you use
System size follows usage, and price follows size. The starting input for every legitimate quote is your last 12 months of utility bills, because a household using 14,000 kWh a year needs a substantially larger system than one using 8,000, and the materials and labor scale with it.
This is also why your neighbor’s price tells you almost nothing about yours. Same street, same builder, different lives: one house runs a heat pump and charges an EV, the other heats with gas and is empty all day. Different systems, different prices, both correct.
2. What your roof demands
Labor is a major share of any installation, and your roof sets the labor. A single broad south-facing plane on a one-story ranch installs quickly. A steep, cut-up roof with dormers, multiple planes, and three stories of ladder work takes longer and costs more per panel. Roofing material matters too: standard asphalt shingle is the baseline, while slate, tile, and certain metals require specialized mounting and handling.
And roof condition sits underneath all of it. Panels last 25 years or more. If the roof beneath them has 5 years left, the responsible move is addressing the roof first, and that belongs in the project conversation from day one, not as a surprise after signing.
3. The equipment tier
Panels, inverters, and racking come in good, better, and best, like most things. Higher-efficiency panels cost more per panel and earn it back on tight roofs where space is the constraint. Premium inverter architectures cost more and matter most on partially shaded roofs. On a big, open, unshaded roof, mid-tier equipment is often the right call. Your proposal should explain why the equipment it names suits your roof.
4. Your home’s electrical readiness
Solar ties into your main electrical panel, and the panel has to be able to accept it. Most homes built or updated in recent decades are ready. Some older homes need a panel upgrade first, which is real money and belongs on the quote as its own line. Ask what the assessment found on yours.
5. How you pay
The same physical system carries a different total cost depending on the financing path. Cash is the lowest lifetime cost. Loans add interest, and some solar loans carry a dealer fee inside the quoted system price rather than shown as a financing cost, so ask how yours is structured. Leases and PPAs remove upfront cost entirely and shift the equation to a monthly payment, with the provider claiming the commercial tax credit and pricing accordingly.
There is no universally right answer. There is a right answer for your cash position, your tax situation, and your timeline, and a complete quote prices the same system through each path.
What Changed About Cost in 2026
One change matters above all: the federal residential tax credit (Section 25D) expired December 31, 2025. For a homeowner buying a system, there is no longer a 30 percent federal credit to subtract. That raised the net cost of a purchased system compared to 2025. If you see a federal credit applied to a purchase quote, ask which credit is being claimed and by whom.
Two counterweights keep the math working. Electricity rates across PA, NJ, and DE rose sharply over the same period, around 20 cents per kWh in PECO and Delmarva territory and roughly 26 cents at PSE&G, which raises the value of every kilowatt-hour a system produces. And the state incentive layers remain: New Jersey’s SREC-II payments with its property and sales tax exemptions, Pennsylvania’s SREC market, and Delaware’s utility rebates. Leases and PPAs additionally still route the commercial Section 48E credit to homeowners indirectly through lower payments.
Cost went up. Value went up. Which effect wins depends on your utility, your usage, and your roof, which is the recurring theme of this page.
What Your Solar Quote Should Include
These are the items that belong on a complete quote. Each one is a normal part of a solar project, and each one should be priced where you can see it.
Electrical panel upgrades.
Covered above. Common in homes with older 100-amp service. A legitimate assessment checks this before quoting.
Roof work.
If the roof needs repair or replacement, that cost is part of the real project total whether or not it appears on the solar quote. Bundling roof and solar into one project is often cheaper than sequencing them separately, but either way the number belongs on the table.
Trenching and distance.
Ground-mounted systems and panels on detached structures require trenching conduit back to the house. Distance is cost.
Dealer fees inside financing.
Some solar loan products carry a fee inside the quoted system price in exchange for a lower advertised interest rate. The equipment did not get more expensive; the financing did. A useful question on any quote is what the cash price would be for the identical system, which separates the two.
Permit and interconnection costs.
Modest, but real, and they should appear on the quote rather than materialize later.
Review these items as part of the project scope so you know exactly what your estimate covers.
How to Get Your Number
One step gets you from researching to knowing: a quote built from your own data. It takes your last 12 months of usage and a look at your roof, and it should come back itemized, with the sizing basis shown, the equipment named, roof and electrical findings stated, each financing path priced side by side, any financing fees identified, and a production estimate with its assumptions visible.
Compare quotes on the line items rather than the bottom line, so you can see what each project actually includes. An itemized quote from an installer with in-house crews and a local track record gives you a basis for comparison.
That is how Sunwise builds a quote.
Get Your Solar Estimate
A Sunwise consultation gives you a price built from your bills and your roof, itemized to the line, with each payment option shown side by side. The consultation is free.
Solar Cost FAQs
Why do solar costs vary so much between homes?
No two homes need the same system. Your price is built from five inputs: how much electricity you use (which sets system size), what your roof demands in labor and mounting (pitch, planes, material, stories), the equipment tier your situation actually calls for, whether your electrical panel needs upgrading, and how you pay. Two identical houses on the same street can carry very different and equally fair prices because the families inside use energy differently. A quote built from your 12 months of usage and your actual roof is the number to work from.
Are the average solar prices I see online accurate?
They are accurate as national or state averages and unreliable as predictions for any individual home. Averages blend small and large systems, simple and complex roofs, and different equipment tiers across thousands of installations. Your actual price can sit well above or below a published average for completely legitimate reasons, which is why installers quote from your usage data and roof rather than from a table.
What are the hidden costs of solar panels?
The most common surprise costs are electrical panel upgrades for older homes, roof repairs or replacement before installation, trenching for ground mounts or detached garages, and dealer fees carried inside some financing products. A complete quote prices all of these upfront, so ask how each one applies to your project.
How much does solar cost after the tax credit in 2026?
The federal residential tax credit (Section 25D) expired December 31, 2025, so there is no federal credit to subtract from a homeowner-purchased system in 2026. However, lease and PPA providers still claim the commercial Section 48E credit and pass the benefit through as lower monthly payments, and state incentives in PA, NJ, and DE continue to reduce effective cost.
How do I know if a solar quote is fair?
A fair quote is itemized and built from your actual data. It should show your 12-month usage as the sizing basis, name the specific equipment, break out any roof or electrical work, disclose all financing fees including dealer fees, and state the production estimate with the assumptions behind it. Comparing two or three quotes on these elements, rather than the bottom-line number alone, reveals which is genuinely fair.