Across the United States, more homeowners say rooftop solar has lowered their energy bills and improved resilience during outages.
In Coatesville, Pennsylvania, engineering technician Brian McGowan paid only about $150 (€130) for electricity last year. After adding more panels last fall, he expects an even smaller bill this year. Before converting much of his home to electric and installing solar, McGowan estimates he would have paid more than $2,000 a year for electricity, roughly $1,000 for gas and over $2,000 for heating oil. Today he drives an electric vehicle and uses a mini-split heat pump for most heating, cutting those fuel costs dramatically.
What began as a few panels to run a kettle, coffee maker and emergency lights evolved into a comprehensive system with battery storage and a heat pump. McGowan now runs two arrays: an off-grid setup that kicks in during extended outages and a grid-tied system of about 30 rooftop panels tied to batteries. He gets three or four outages a year, some lasting days, and says his wife only notices a flicker during blackouts because the house stays powered. McGowan expects outages to become more frequent as demand rises.
Retiree John Spezia of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, installed solar 13 years ago and recently added a heat pump, allowing him to shut off his natural gas service. He estimates the change saves about $400–$500 a year plus the monthly base charge. In some months they generate more electricity than they use and export the surplus to the grid. Net metering lets them bank credits to offset usage in colder months.
Reliability concerns are growing. The US Energy Information Administration reports that in 2024 electricity customers experienced about 11 hours of outages on average, roughly double the decade-earlier annual average. A Stanford analysis of how homeowners could use solar and batteries to ride out outages found that about 60% of households would also see financial benefits, though that study included a federal tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act that has since been rescinded.
How much a household saves by producing its own power depends on many variables: local solar resources, system size, installation and permitting costs, whether batteries are included, retail electricity rates and how utilities compensate for exported power. Under full net metering, utilities credit exported electricity at the full retail rate. Under net billing, exports are credited at a wholesale rate. Stanford researcher Tao Sun notes that in some places, like parts of California, exported power may be credited at roughly 25% of the retail price, which creates stronger incentives to add battery storage and consume more of the solar generation onsite.
Payback periods vary widely. Ben Delman of Solar United Neighbors says systems in states with strong incentives can pay back in as little as 2–5 years; in states with lower retail electricity prices or fewer credits, payback commonly runs 7–11 years. As he puts it, your payoff depends a lot on how much you were paying for electricity before going solar.
Rooftop solar has spread nationwide: about 5 million US homes now have metered rooftop systems, roughly one in every 30 residential residences, according to the Environment America Research and Policy Center. Johanna Neumann, who leads the center’s campaign for 100% renewable energy, calls the trend a 50-state phenomenon driven both by environmental concerns and by people seeking more control and stability over their energy supply.
For prospective solar owners, local policy and financing shape the economics. Some states still offer tax credits; banks and other lenders provide loans and leases remain an option in some markets. But several states have reduced compensation for exported power or added fixed monthly fees for solar customers, which can change the math. McGowan says some systems now face extra charges of about $50 a month, a push that leads many homeowners to add batteries and reduce reliance on the grid.
McGowan recommends pairing solar with battery storage and improving home efficiency. He installed a drain-water heat exchanger to recover heat from wastewater and uses a heat pump for hot water, measures that cut energy demand. Spezia recommends getting an energy audit, sealing leaks and converting appliances and heating to electric before sizing a solar system.
Tao Sun suggests balancing economic calculations with resilience needs: ‘How much would you pay for your uninterrupted service of power?’ For many homeowners, the combination of lower bills and greater reliability makes rooftop solar an increasingly attractive choice.
Edited by: Tamsin Walker