The short answer

Solar can pay for itself in most of Texas, but it takes a while. For a home with a $150 average monthly bill, our calculator's estimates put the payback at 14 to 24 years at today's typical prices, with rates rising up to 3% a year. The biggest change: the 30% federal tax credit ended for home systems finished after 2025, and Texas has no state rebate to replace it. What still works in your favor: plenty of sun, big summer bills, and a Texas law that keeps solar off your property tax.

The biggest single factor isn't the sun. It's what happens to the solar power you don't use as it's made.

What matters most: who buys your extra power

A typical system sends a big share of its output to the grid during the day. In our model of 200 Texas homes built from NREL data, a system sized to 85% of yearly use exports about 54% of what it makes. Texas has no statewide net metering law, so each utility, or each retail plan, decides what that power is worth. There are four main deals:

Value of solar

Austin Energy pays 12.89 cents for every kWh your panels make, used at home or not, and bills all your use at its normal rates. Power you use and power you send out are worth the same.

Monthly netting

CPS Energy and El Paso Electric subtract what you send out from what you use each month and bill the difference. Only a month-end surplus earns a lower rate, 1.65 cents at CPS. El Paso Electric also adds a demand charge for solar homes.

A set buyback rate

Some co-ops and Entergy Texas credit surplus at a published rate: 7.19 cents at PEC (against base power only), 8.53 cents at CoServ in October 2026, about 3.6 to 3.9 cents at Entergy Texas.

Your retail plan

Where you choose a provider, in the Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas, TNMP and Lubbock areas, the plan decides. Some credit close to their energy charge, some pay wholesale prices, some pay nothing.

The same panels on the same roof can save very different amounts under these four rules. Our buyback plans guide goes deeper on the retail-plan areas, where the choice is yours.

A cool, bright Texas living room at midday with sunlight on the floor and a ceiling fan turning
Used at home as it is made
Power lines running along a Texas street lined with homes that have rooftop solar panels
Sent to the grid when panels make more than the home uses

Sun by city

Texas sun is strong everywhere, and stronger the farther west you go. Here's what one kW of panels on a south-facing roof produces in a typical year:

kWh per kW of panels per year. Source: PVWatts v8, south-facing roof at a 6/12 pitch, standard losses. Our calculator uses each ZIP code's nearest city and takes off another 5% to stay conservative.

El Paso gets about 32% more from the same panels than Beaumont. That matters, but less than the buyback rule: a kWh used at home or credited at full price is worth several times one credited at a wholesale rate.

Payback by utility

Here's what our calculator works out for the same home, a $150 average monthly bill, in seven parts of Texas. The system covers 85% of the home's yearly use:

UtilityPaybackFirst-year savingsSystemPrice at $3.00 to $3.50/W
Austin EnergyAustin sun14 to 16 years$1,4207.8 kW$23,300 to $27,200
CPS EnergySan Antonio sun16 to 18 years$1,3408.1 kW$24,200 to $28,200
Oncor areaDallas sun16 to 18 years$9906.2 kW$18,500 to $21,600
CenterPoint areaHouston sun17 to 19 years$9706.5 kW$19,600 to $22,900
Pedernales (PEC)Austin sun19 to 22 years$9807.8 kW$23,300 to $27,100
CoServFort Worth sun19 to 21 years$1,0708.1 kW$24,400 to $28,400
Entergy TexasBeaumont sun21 to 24 years$8307.2 kW$21,600 to $25,200

Savings use each utility's own rates and buyback rule, local PVWatts sun less 5%, and our model's share of solar used at home. In the Oncor and CenterPoint areas, savings assume the average Texas plan price and a buyback halfway between wholesale and the plan's energy charge. Rates rise each year at the utility's 2019 to 2024 pace, capped at 3%; panels lose 0.5% of output a year. Prices: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2024.

El Paso Electric isn't in the table. Its solar homes now pay a demand charge set by each home's highest hour of use, which we can't estimate without your usage data; our El Paso Electric guide shows the math.

Two things shorten those numbers. Austin Energy's $4,000 rebate, for eligible projects, would bring its payback down to about 14 years at $3.50 per watt. And the price matters as much as anything: at $3.00 per watt instead of $3.50, payback drops by two or three years in every row above. Running the estimate on your own bill and utility is the only way to know where you land.

What solar costs now

There's no official Texas price for home solar, but Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory tracks what homeowners actually pay across the country. In 2024, the median home system bought with cash cost $3.50 per watt, and one in five systems cost $3.00 or less. Loans raise the price: the median loan-financed system was $4.70 per watt, partly because loan fees get rolled into it. On an 8 kW system, the gap between $3.00 and $4.70 is more than $13,000.

  • The federal credit is gone for new home systems. The IRS says the 30% residential clean energy credit doesn't apply to systems placed in service after December 31, 2025.
  • Texas has no state rebate. The PUCT says the state "does not offer grants or rebates for installing solar panels." A few utilities do; our incentives guide lists them.
  • Property tax stays put. Texas Tax Code 11.27 exempts the value solar adds to your home. See our property tax exemption guide.
Upscale suburban Texas street in late afternoon, stone and brick two-story homes, several with solar panels on their roofs, live oaks and a wide open sky

When solar fits, and when it doesn't

Stronger case

Long stay, good deal on exports

You plan to stay well past the payback, your utility credits exports at or near full price (Austin Energy, CPS Energy), your roof gets steady sun, and your summer bills run high.

Depends on the plan

Retail-choice areas

In the Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas and TNMP areas, the plan you pick can move yearly savings by hundreds of dollars. Solar fits best with a plan whose buyback is close to its energy charge.

Weaker case

Short stay or an old roof

You may move within 10 years, your roof needs replacing soon (CPS Energy suggests a roof 10 years old or newer), or your plan pays nothing for exports and the house sits empty all day.

None of these rules is absolute. A big bill with a weak buyback can still beat a small bill with a strong one. The estimate takes about a minute and uses your own numbers.

How it works

Your estimate in three steps

  1. Enter your billYour ZIP code, your utility and last month's bill.
  2. See your estimateA yearly savings range based on your utility's rates and the sun where you live.
  3. Choose what's nextAsk for a quote call if you want real pricing, or just keep the number.

See what solar could save you

It takes about a minute. You don't need a site visit, a commitment or a sales call to see your number.

Check my savings →

Common questions

Is solar worth it in Texas in 2026?

For a home you plan to keep, it usually pays for itself, but slowly. For a $150 average monthly bill, our calculator puts payback at about 14 to 24 years at $3.00 to $3.50 per watt, depending mostly on how your utility or retail plan credits the power you send to the grid.

How long does it take solar to pay for itself in Texas?

In our estimates for a $150 monthly bill, about 14 to 24 years, with Austin Energy at the short end and Entergy Texas at the long end. A rebate, a lower price per watt or a bigger bill shortens it; a loan with fees rolled in lengthens it.

Is there still a federal solar tax credit for Texas homes?

Not for systems finished after 2025. The IRS says the 30% residential clean energy credit does not apply to property placed in service after December 31, 2025.

Does Texas have net metering?

Not statewide. Each utility or retail plan sets its own terms. Austin Energy credits all solar production at its Value of Solar rate, CPS Energy nets use and exports each month, many co-ops pay a set buyback rate, and in customer-choice areas the retail plan decides.

Which Texas city gets the most sun for solar?

Of the cities we modeled with PVWatts, El Paso gets the most, about 1,857 kWh a year from each kW of panels on a south-facing roof. Beaumont gets the least, about 1,411 kWh.

Does solar raise property taxes in Texas?

No. Texas Tax Code 11.27 exempts the value a solar energy system adds to your home from property tax. You claim it once with your county appraisal district.

Prices, buyback terms and rates change. These are estimates from our calculator's model, not quotes; a site visit gives the real price for your roof. Sources: PVWatts v8, National Laboratory of the Rockies (formerly NREL) · Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage, 2025 data update · IRS FAQs on the 2025 changes to section 25D · PUCT: thinking about solar panels for your home? · Austin Energy: Value of Solar · Austin Energy: increased rebate (Aug 2026) · CPS Energy: residential solar · PEC: DG interconnection rates · EIA Form 861 · EIA Form 861M. Reviewed October 2026.

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