Is solar worth it in Tucson in 2026?
A roof in Tucson produces about 1,807 kWh a year per kW of panels. For a home with a $150 monthly bill, a 6.5 kW system costs about $20,000 at Arizona's median price and pays for itself in roughly 17.9 years, with no federal tax credit. That is 2% more sun than Phoenix, the city on our Arizona page.
1,807kWh per kW a year
Source: PVGIS, NSRDB data
15.4¢per kWh
Source: EIA, 2026 year to date
$3.10per watt
Source: Berkeley Lab
Calculator · 2026 data, no federal tax credit
How long would solar take to pay for itself?
Simple payback
17.9 years
- System size
- 6.5 kW
- Installed cost
- $20,000
- Savings, year one
- $1,116
- Net over 25 years
- $6,288
Sized to cover your yearly use at today's price. Panels lose 0.5% a year; prices held flat. Method
How Tucson homes get paid for solar
Export rules are set at the state and utility level, not by the city. Tucson is under Arizona's net billing: APS and TEP credit exports at a fixed Resource Comparison Proxy rate locked for 10 years, and SRP uses its own export credits under separate price plans. The full rules, incentives and sources are on theArizona 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. Tucson gets 1,807 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 15.4¢ takes about 6.5 kW, roughly 17 panels of 400 W. Electricity prices in the calculator are the Arizona residential average; your utility's rate can be higher or lower, so put your own bill in.
Other Arizona cities: Phoenix.
Method: how we calculate payback. Compare all states in theranking or size a system with the panel calculator.