Is solar worth it in Kansas?
A 7.0 kW rooftop system near Wichita produces about 10,683 kWh a year. Priced against the 11 residential tariffs currently on file in Kansas, payback runs from 17 years on the best of them to 26 on the worst.
Why the tariff matters more than the panels
Two households in Kansas with identical roofs and identical systems can see paybacks 17 and 26 years apart, purely because they are on different tariffs. Solar produces at midday; households consume in the evening. Only 49% of what these panels make is used as it is made — the rest is exported, and what an exported kWh earns is set by the tariff and by state net metering rules, not by the hardware.
That is why the figures here are computed hour by hour against each real tariff rather than by taking a bill and assuming solar removes a share of it. How this is modeled →
Payback by tariff in Kansas
7.0 kW system at $3.00/W, household using 1000 kWh a month, no incentives. A range means the export credit is not filed with the tariff and the outcome depends on net metering rules — 10 of 11 tariffs here belong to a utility that reports residential net metering.
| Utility | Tariff | Structure | Annual saving | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Power & Light Co | Residential Other Use Service (Schedule ROU) | Time-of-use | $626–$1,259 | 17–34y |
| Kansas City Power & Light Co | Residential Time Of Use Two-Period | Time-of-use | $594–$1,221 | 17–35y |
| Westar Energy Inc | TOU (Time of Use) | Time-of-use | $515–$1,207 | 17–41y |
| Westar Energy Inc | Residential | Time-of-use + tiered | $587–$1,202 | 17–36y |
| Westar Energy Inc | RS (Residential Standard Service) | Time-of-use + tiered | $578–$1,185 | 18–36y |
| City of Kansas City, Kansas (Utility Company) | General Purpose Residential Rate - Rate Code 100 | Flat | $568–$1,155 | 18–37y |
| City of Kansas City, Kansas (Utility Company) | Residential Electric Heating Rate - Rate Code 101 | Time-of-use + tiered | $563–$1,145 | 18–37y |
| Kansas City Power & Light Co | Residential Time Of Use - Pilot | Time-of-use | $443–$1,051 | 20–47y |
| Kansas City Power & Light Co | Residential Standard Service (Schedule R) | Time-of-use | $520–$1,044 | 20–40y |
| Westar Energy Inc | RTOU-2 (Residential Time of Use Two-Period) | Time-of-use | $433–$968 | 22–48y |
| City of Augusta, Kansas (Utility Company) | Residential Service | Flat | $796 | 26y |
Price it for your own usage and system size →
What would change this
Your roof. Production is modeled for Wichita on a south-facing array at 20° tilt. Shading, orientation and pitch all move it, and solar resource varies within Kansas itself.
Your usage pattern. A household at home during the day self-consumes more and exports less, which shortens payback wherever export credit is poor.
Rising rates. These figures hold today's prices flat. Electricity prices have been rising, and every rise shortens payback — so treat these as a conservative bound.
State and local incentives. Not included here, and in some states they are worth more than the federal credit was. Check your state energy office before deciding.