Is solar worth it in Honolulu in 2026?
A roof in Honolulu produces about 1,669 kWh a year per kW of panels. For a home with a $150 monthly bill, a 2.3 kW system costs about $8,389 at Hawaii's median price and pays for itself in roughly 8.0 years, with no federal tax credit.
1,669kWh per kW a year
Source: PVGIS, NSRDB data
46.3¢per kWh
Source: EIA, 2026 year to date
$3.60per watt
Source: Berkeley Lab
Calculator · 2026 data, no federal tax credit
How long would solar take to pay for itself?
Simple payback
8.0 years
- System size
- 2.3 kW
- Installed cost
- $8,389
- Savings, year one
- $1,044
- Net over 25 years
- $16,203
Sized to cover your yearly use at today's price. Panels lose 0.5% a year; prices held flat. Method
How Honolulu homes get paid for solar
Export rules are set at the state and utility level, not by the city. Honolulu is under Hawaii's net billing: New Hawaii solar customers on Hawaiian Electric's Smart DER tariff get time-varying export credits set by the PUC (Oahu daytime $0.135/kWh), well below retail; the old net metering is closed to new customers. The full rules, incentives and sources are on theHawaii 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. Honolulu gets 1,669 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 46.3¢ takes about 2.3 kW, roughly 6 panels of 400 W. Electricity prices in the calculator are the Hawaii 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.