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Solar payback · NC

Is solar worth it in North Carolina?

A 7 kW rooftop system near Charlotte produces about 10,125 kWh a year. Priced against 43 current residential tariffs in North Carolina, payback runs from 8 years on the best of them to 44 on the worst.

No federal tax credit applies to a purchased system. Section 25D ended on December 31, 2025. Leases and power-purchase agreements can still reach the business credit (48E) through 2027, but it is claimed by the system's owner, not by you. Every figure on this page assumes no federal credit and no state or utility incentive.
8 yearsshortest payback, on the best tariff
1,446kWh per kW per year
#15of 52 states measured
51%used on site, not exported
$21,000system cost at $3.00/W

Why the tariff matters more than the panels

Two households in North Carolina with identical roofs and identical systems can see paybacks 8 and 44 years apart, purely because they are on different tariffs. Solar produces at midday; households consume in the evening. Only 51% 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 North Carolina

7 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 — 34 of 43 tariffs here belong to a utility that reports residential net metering.

UtilityTariffStructure Annual savingPayback
Virginia Electric & Power Co Residential Off-Peak Plan Time-of-use $1,259–$2,544 8–17y
Roanoke Electric Member Corp Residential Service - Time of Day Time-of-use $1,104–$1,753 12–19y
Virginia Electric & Power Co Residential Schedule 1G (Experimental Service) Time-of-use $793–$1,634 13–26y
Virginia Electric & Power Co Residential Schedule 1 Seasonal + tiered $822–$1,626 13–26y
Virginia Electric & Power Co Residential Energy TOU Schedule 1T Time-of-use $730–$1,575 13–29y
Blue Ridge Elec Member Corp Residential TOU Pilot - Single Phase Time-of-use $1,010–$1,532 14–21y
Roanoke Electric Member Corp Residential Service Flat $770–$1,505 14–27y
Progress Energy Carolinas Inc Residential Service - Single Phase Time-of-use + tiered $751–$1,478 14–28y
Progress Energy Carolinas Inc Residential Service - Three Phase Seasonal + tiered $747–$1,474 14–28y
Progress Energy Carolinas Inc Residential Time of Use (R-TOU) Three Phase Time-of-use $631–$1,459 14–33y
Progress Energy Carolinas Inc Residential Time of Use (R-TOU) Single Phase Time-of-use $631–$1,459 14–33y
Progress Energy Carolinas Inc Residential Time of Use with Critical Peak Pricing (R-TOU-CPP) Single Phase Time-of-use $636–$1,377 15–33y
Progress Energy Carolinas Inc Residential Time of Use with Critical Peak Pricing (R-TOU-CPP) Three Phase Time-of-use $636–$1,377 15–33y
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC RS (Residential Service) Flat $661–$1,292 16–32y
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC ES (Residential Service Energy Star, Standard) Flat $629–$1,229 17–33y

Your roof, your numbers

Change the usage, system size and installed cost, and every North Carolina tariff is priced again.

Price it for your own system

What would change this

Your roof. Production is modeled for Charlotte on a south-facing array at 20° tilt. Shading, orientation and pitch all move it, and solar resource varies within North Carolina 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.

Guides to solar payback

All guides

  1. Guide · 4 min

    Why a smaller solar system pays back faster

    Doubling your panel count does not double your savings. On a real Georgia Power tariff, a 3 kW system pays back in 13 years and a 12 kW system takes 21 to 41 — and past a certain size, extra panels cannot save you anything at all.

  2. Guide · 3 min

    Where homes net-meter rooftop solar, and where almost none do

    Utilities report 5.5 million net-metered home solar systems, 41 per 1,000 households. Hawaii has 233; Tennessee and Alabama almost none.

  3. Guide · 3 min

    Solar in 2026, without the federal tax credit

    Section 25D ended on December 31, 2025. A home solar system bought in 2026 gets no federal credit at all — not a reduced one — and most payback advice still online predates that.

  4. Guide · 4 min

    Some utilities charge households for their peak demand

    59 household tariffs at 27 utilities charge for peak demand, typically $8.58 per kW a month. From 2027, southern Nevada's homes will pay one by the day.

  5. Guide · 3 min

    When is electricity most expensive? It depends on your utility

    Across 95 utilities with time-of-use rates we found 49 different weekday peak windows. Nearly all include 5 to 6 pm; little else is shared.