A snapshot of what solar actually costs and pays back in Texas right now, plus every calculator on this site pre-loaded with Texas's numbers.
At Texas's average residential electricity rate of $0.15/kWh and 5.5 peak sun hours per day, a standard 6kW residential system produces roughly 9,636 kWh a year. Installed at an estimated $2.60/watt, that system runs about $15,600 before incentives, with a simple payback around 11 years at full retail-rate value. Your real number depends heavily on your actual usage and roof — run it precisely in the Solar Panel Calculator, pre-loaded with Texas's defaults.
Texas: No statewide mandate — varies by utility/retail provider. That's roughly a 70% export credit relative to the retail rate in our model — see the exact math for your own production and consumption in the Net Metering Calculator.
The federal residential tax credit (Section 25D) expired for owned systems installed after December 31, 2025 — see our 2026 federal tax credit guide for the full picture. At the state level: Texas has no state income tax credit, but a property tax exemption on the added home value from solar is available statewide. Check the Solar Tax Credit & Incentive Calculator for a worked example, and verify current program status with a database like DSIRE before budgeting around any specific number.
Get a full cost breakdown — equipment, labor, permitting — using Texas's regional cost estimate in the Solar Panel Cost Calculator, or see the full return-on-investment picture including degradation and rate escalation in the Solar ROI Calculator.
With an average residential rate of $0.15/kWh and no statewide mandate — varies by utility/retail provider, a typical 6kW system in Texas pays back in roughly 11 years based on current estimates — run your own numbers with your actual bill for a precise figure.
A typical 6kW residential system in Texas costs approximately $15,600 installed before any incentives, based on a regional estimate of $2.60/watt.