Solar installations cost $15,000-$35,000 with payback periods of 5-12 years depending on location and incentives. Use our live calculator below to get your exact cost in seconds. solar calculator — enter your ZIP code and electricity bill, and it returns your recommended system size in kW, the number of panels, the roof area you need, the gross install cost, the annual savings, the payback period, the 25-year lifetime profit, and the CO₂ offset. Built on. NLR analyzes the total costs associated with installing photovoltaic (PV) systems for residential rooftop, commercial rooftop, and utility-scale ground-mount systems. Through 2022, benchmarks were developed using bottom-up. Historic Low Pricing: Solar costs have reached all-time lows at $2. 8 per watt installed, translating to $600,000–$1. Rising energy bills and unpredictable regulations are.