Florida solar payback calculator
Four quick questions. Low, likely and high ranges from your utility’s rates. No federal tax credit assumed.
In California? Use the California calculator.
- Step 1: Enter your ZIP and utility
- Step 2: Add your monthly bill
- Step 3: See your payback range
- Free, no sign-up
- Florida utility rates, every assumption listed
- No federal tax credit assumed
Battery backup in Florida: what it does and what it does not
A home battery is mostly a backup-power choice, not a way to pay solar off faster. Here is what to expect so you can compare it with what installers offer.
- What a battery can power
- During a grid outage, a battery can keep chosen circuits running, usually things like lights, the refrigerator, internet and phone charging. Which circuits, and for how long, depends on how the system is wired and on the battery’s capacity and power rating.
- What it does not do on its own
- Solar panels without a battery usually shut off when the grid goes down, so they do not power your home during an outage. A battery also may not run everything at once: central air conditioning, an electric water heater or several large appliances need much more capacity than essentials. Ask installers which loads a quoted system covers.
- How long it lasts
- That depends on what you run and how much sun is available to recharge it the next day. Running only essential loads stretches it furthest.
- Cost and payback
- A battery raises the upfront cost. In Florida, utilities credit the solar you send to the grid through net metering, so in this estimate a battery adds cost but no extra bill savings, and payback gets longer. That is why batteries are chosen for backup power rather than for payback.
Whether backup is worth the added cost is a personal call. Compare the same home with and without a battery in the calculator, then ask installers to quote both.
How we calculated this
- We place your ZIP code on the map and look up how much sun a rooftop solar array gets there using the PVWatts solar model, adjusted for the shade you picked.
- We work backwards from your bill through your utility’s published rates to estimate how much electricity you use in a year.
- We size a system to cover most of that usage and price it with a range of local installed costs.
- We apply Florida’s rules for solar you send back to the grid, then project savings with a range of rate increases.
- We show low, likely and high results, with every assumption listed. No federal tax credit is applied.
Every source and assumption is explained in our methodology. Estimates are not a quote; installer prices and your actual usage will differ.
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Real stories from Florida
Publicly reported accounts, with links to the original reporting. See all stories.
Treasure Coast
Treasure Coast homeowners filed hundreds of complaints over door-to-door solar sales
WFLX reported that Florida consumers had filed nearly 750 complaints against three solar companies the station examined, according to attorney general data, and that the attorney general had opened formal investigations into two of them while the third faced active litigation. At least six families described similar door-to-door sales pitches; one homeowner was locked into a $60,000 loan over 25 years, another had a $40,000 solar loan, and a couple said their panels never lowered FPL bills of nearly $300 a month. Seniors vs. Crime, part of the attorney general's office, offers free mediation to help people cancel contracts and recover money.
What it means for you: Get several written quotes, read every loan and warranty term before you sign, and treat a salesperson's savings number as a claim to check, not a promise.
Florida Power & Light territory
Regulators approved FPL's four-year rate deal, with bills projected to keep rising
The News Service of Florida reported that the Florida Public Service Commission approved a four-year rate settlement for Florida Power & Light that raises base rates by $945 million in 2026 and $705 million in 2027, with more collected in 2028 and 2029 for solar and battery-storage projects. In FPL's traditional territory, a 1,000 kWh residential bill goes from $134.14 to $136.64 in 2026, while Northwest Florida customers see a drop from $143.60 to $141.36, with increases projected in later years. The Office of Public Counsel and consumer groups said the deal could total about $6.9 billion over four years and expected to challenge it at the Florida Supreme Court.
What it means for you: FPL's rates are now set for several years but still projected to rise, so run your payback with your own bill and a range of rate growth, not a single forecast.Read the source: News Service of Florida, via Central Florida Public Media
Babcock Ranch, Charlotte County 2022 report
Babcock Ranch kept its lights on through Hurricane Ian
Babcock Ranch, a neighborhood of roughly 2,000 homes about 12 miles northeast of Fort Myers, kept power during Hurricane Ian in 2022 while the storm knocked out power to more than 2.6 million Florida customers. CNN reported that a nearby array of 700,000 solar panels produces more electricity than the neighborhood uses, and that some residents had added rooftop panels and batteries. The storm uprooted trees and tore shingles from roofs, but a resident described no other major damage.
What it means for you: One neighborhood's experience shows what is possible, not what a single home with panels will get; batteries are what let a house run during an outage, and they add cost.