Is solar worth it in Salt Lake City in 2026?
A roof in Salt Lake City produces about 1,490 kWh a year per kW of panels. For a home with a $150 monthly bill, a 9.2 kW system costs about $33,047 at Utah's median price and pays for itself in roughly 30.6 years, with no federal tax credit.
1,490kWh per kW a year
Source: PVGIS, NSRDB data
13.2¢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
30.6 years
- System size
- 9.2 kW
- Installed cost
- $33,047
- Savings, year one
- $1,080
- Net over 25 years
- $-7,607
Sized to cover your yearly use at today's price. Panels lose 0.5% a year; prices held flat. Method
How Salt Lake City homes get paid for solar
Export rules are set at the state and utility level, not by the city. Salt Lake City is under Utah's net billing: Rocky Mountain Power pays a fixed export credit (4.033 to 4.855 cents per kWh in 2026), set each March 1, for solar customers who interconnected after Oct. 30, 2020. The full rules, incentives and sources are on theUtah 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. Salt Lake City gets 1,490 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 13.2¢ takes about 9.2 kW, roughly 23 panels of 400 W. Electricity prices in the calculator are the Utah 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.