Is solar worth it in Boston in 2026?
A roof in Boston produces about 1,315 kWh a year per kW of panels. For a home with a $150 monthly bill, a 4.5 kW system costs about $15,441 at Massachusetts's median price and pays for itself in roughly 8.6 years, with no federal tax credit.
1,315kWh per kW a year
Source: PVGIS, NSRDB data
30.1¢per kWh
Source: EIA, 2026 year to date
$3.40per watt
Source: Berkeley Lab
Calculator · 2026 data, no federal tax credit
How long would solar take to pay for itself?
Simple payback
8.6 years
- System size
- 4.5 kW
- Installed cost
- $15,441
- Savings, year one
- $1,800
- Net over 25 years
- $26,959
Sized to cover your yearly use at today's price. Panels lose 0.5% a year; prices held flat. Method
How Boston homes get paid for solar
Export rules are set at the state and utility level, not by the city. Boston is under Massachusetts's full net metering: Exports from home systems get net metering bill credits near the retail rate (efficiency, renewable and solar charges excluded); SMART 3.0 adds a flat per-kWh payment for 20 years. The full rules, incentives and sources are on theMassachusetts page.
Why the city matters
Two things change from one city to another in the same state: the sun, which sets how many panels you need, and the utility, which sets what exported power is worth. Boston gets 1,315 kWh per kW a year on a south-facing roof at a 20° tilt, so covering a year of use for a $150 bill at 30.1¢ takes about 4.5 kW, roughly 12 panels of 400 W. Electricity prices in the calculator are the Massachusetts residential average; your utility's rate can be higher or lower, so put your own bill in.
Method: how we calculate payback. Compare all states in theranking or size a system with the panel calculator.