Rough estimate
Is solar worth a conversation for you?
Enter your bill and this will do the arithmetic — system size, installed cost, and roughly how long it would take to pay back. It is a sanity check, not a quote, and the assumptions behind it are printed underneath it rather than hidden.
Solar Savings Estimator
Estimates use average VA/MD/DC sun hours (4.5h/day) and a typical installed cost of $3.00/W. Actual pricing and production vary by site — a professional evaluation is required for a real quote.
No tax credit is applied to these figures. The 30% federal residential clean energy credit (IRC §25D) ended for systems placed in service after 31 December 2025, under Public Law 119-21. Any older page, brochure, or calculator still subtracting 30% is overstating your savings. (Verified 2026-08-16; owner to re-confirm against irs.gov before launch.) State, county, and utility programs are separate, change often, and are not modelled here — ask the installation partner what currently applies to your address.
What this cannot see
It takes a monthly bill, an assumed electricity rate, average sun hours for the VA / MD / DC region, and a typical installed cost per watt. Everything below can move the real number substantially, in either direction, and none of it is here:
- Your actual roof — its orientation, pitch, usable area, and what shades it across the middle of the day.
- The condition of your roof covering, or whether it should be replaced first.
- Your electrical service, and whether the panel needs upgrading.
- Current equipment and labour pricing where you live.
- Your utility's current net-metering terms, or any state, county, or utility program.
- Your tax position.
Solar Strive does not sell, permit, or install solar, and we never give a professional opinion about someone's property. A licensed partner does that part — including telling you what this roof, specifically, would produce.
Two things worth knowing first
The federal residential tax credit has ended. The 30% credit under IRC §25D was terminated for systems placed in service after 31 December 2025, by Public Law 119-21. Any estimate that still subtracts 30% — including anything you find elsewhere — is showing you a payback period shorter than the real one. This estimator applies no credit at all. (Verified 2026-08-16; owner to re-confirm against irs.gov before launch.)
Get more than one proposal. It remains the single most effective thing a homeowner can do, and it costs nothing. A proposal that needs an answer today is telling you something about the seller.
Want to understand the numbers?
The cost and financing module explains what actually drives the price, and what ownership versus a lease really changes.
Read cost & financing →Ready for a real number?
A licensed partner can measure the roof rather than assume it. We just make the introduction.
Request a consultation →