Call 888-989-4873 to get a free California home solar assessment today!
What solar incentives are you eligible for? How much money can solar panels save you? How many solar panels do you need? Get the answers to these, and any other questions you have, with a free home solar assessment for California homeowners. Call now to discover how much money the government may give you to put solar panels on your home.
Call 888-989-4873 to get a free California home solar assessment today!
California Solar Installation Costs & Incentives FAQs
Solar panels are priced per watt. Most estimates you see online put the average cost of solar panels in California at around $2.80 per watt.
However, that can vary quite a bit. Some homeowners get solar installed for under $1 per watt while others pay over $7 per watt. What you end up paying depends on a number of factors. And, at the end of the day, the only way to get a good idea of what your costs and savings will be is to talk to a local, trusted solar installer.
(Tip: Don’t automatically go with the lower estimate you get. Be sure to get multiple bids. And keep in mind some, less reputable installers may cut corners to cut costs. It’s usually worth it to pay a bit more and go with a proven, reliable solar installation company.)
The total cost for a system depends on how many solar panels you need / can put on your home. The average total costs for residential solar panels in California right now range between an average of $11,000 and $15,000. (Again, this does not take current incentives into account.)
Currently, there is no state of California solar tax credit. However, there are a number of incentives which we’ll get into in a minute.
However, there is a federal solar tax credit that California residents are eligible for. This tax credit is 30% of the costs of your solar installation (this includes the panels, labor and other equipment).
If your solar installation costs $15,000, then you’ll get a tax credit of $4,500. That’s a dollar-for-dollar credit. So if you owe $5,000 in taxes, after the credit, you’d only pay $500 in taxes.
Not a bad deal at all! However, these solar credits are sunsetting so if you want to take advantage of them, you’ll need to act sooner rather than later.
There is a rebate program available in California if you decide to get a battery storage system with your solar panels.
This rebate is through the Self-Generation Incentive Program or SGIP. It provides CA residents a rebate of between $200 and $1,000 per kilowatt-hour of storage on their battery storage system. This can save you thousands if you get batteries with your solar panels!
All California residents can take advantage of the current Federal tax credits for solar. Due to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, you can get a 30% tax credit for installing solar on your home. That includes the cost of the panels, labor, batteries, and anything else that’s a part of your system.
This tax credit will save many homeowners thousands of dollars off the cost of solar. This is a dollar-for-dollar tax credit, and here’s how that works…
If you have an average size solar installation and it costs $15,000. Your tax credit for that will be $5,000. At the end of the year, if you owe $6,000 in taxes to the IRS, you would only have to pay $1,000 due to your solar tax credit.
