What solar costs in Florida
The middle half of Florida households who put solar on the roof paid between $2.62 and $5.76 a watt, on 938 reported installations. There is no longer a federal credit to take off that.
The numbers
High electricity prices make solar pay faster, so a red figure in the third box is good news for a solar buyer and bad news every other month of the year.
Holding a quote above $32,640? Installers in Florida price the same system very differently. Two more bids is the cheapest way to find out where yours sits.
Plain outbound links. We take no phone numbers and sell no leads: you give your details to the company that will actually call you, not to us.
What the roof makes month by month in Jacksonville
A 1.5 to 1 swing, which is unusually flat. Output here is steadier month to month than almost anywhere else in the country, so monthly bills stay more predictable.
Figures are for an 8 kW array at 20 degrees facing south, modelled from NSRDB radiation data at Jacksonville.
What different sizes cost in Florida
| Size | Panels | Price | Output | Year one saving | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 kW | 10 | $16,320 | 5,704 kWh | $857 | 16.3 years |
| 5 kW | 13 | $20,400 | 7,130 kWh | $1,072 | 16.3 years |
| 6 kW | 15 | $24,480 | 8,556 kWh | $1,286 | 16.3 years |
| 7 kW | 18 | $28,560 | 9,982 kWh | $1,500 | 16.3 years |
| 8 kWtypical | 20 | $32,640 | 11,408 kWh | $1,715 | 16.3 years |
| 10 kW | 25 | $40,800 | 14,260 kWh | $2,143 | 16.3 years |
| 12 kW | 30 | $48,960 | 17,112 kWh | $2,572 | 16.3 years |
| 15 kW | 38 | $61,200 | 21,390 kWh | $3,215 | 16.3 years |
| 20 kW | 50 | $81,600 | 28,520 kWh | $4,287 | 16.3 years |
Payback is the same at every size because this table holds the price per watt flat at the Florida median of $4.08: price and output both grow in step with the system, so their ratio does not change. Real quotes are not quite linear. Permitting, design and connection cost roughly the same on any roof, so a small system usually costs more per watt and a large one less, and pays back correspondingly later or sooner than shown.
The price is what Florida households actually paid on host-owned systems installed in 2024-2025, as reported to state programmes and compiled by Berkeley Lab, gross of any incentive. Quote marketplaces publish the prices installers offer on their own platforms, which is a different measure from prices paid on contracts that closed, so the two need not match.
17 programmes in Florida
The 30% federal credit ended for installations completed after 31 December 2025. These state, utility and local programmes are unaffected by that, and are now the only thing that reduces the price.
| Programme | Type | Run by | Reach | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Keys Electric Cooperative - Solar Loan Program | Loan Program | Utility | statewide | January 2, 2026 |
| Interconnection Standards | Interconnection | State | statewide | January 2, 2026 |
| Lakeland Electric - Residential Energy Efficiency Loan Program | Loan Program | Utility | statewide | January 2, 2026 |
| Net Metering | Net Metering | State | statewide | January 2, 2026 |
| Property Tax Abatement for Renewable Energy Property | Property Tax Incentive | State | statewide | January 2, 2026 |
| Solar and CHP Sales Tax Exemption | Sales Tax Incentive | State | statewide | January 2, 2026 |
| Beaches Energy Services - Solar Water Heating Rebate Program | Rebate Program | Utility | partial | February 10, 2025 |
| City of Lauderhill - Revolving Loan Program | Loan Program | Local | partial | January 2, 2026 |
| City of Tallahassee Utilities - Efficiency Loans | Loan Program | Utility | partial | January 2, 2026 |
| City of Tallahassee Utilities - Solar Loans | Loan Program | Utility | partial | January 2, 2026 |
| City of Tallahassee Utilities - Solar Water Heating Rebate | Rebate Program | Utility | partial | June 20, 2025 |
| Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc - Energy Smart Solar Water Heater Rebate Program | Rebate Program | Utility | partial | February 11, 2025 |
| Florida Solar Easement and Access Laws | Solar/Wind Access Policy | State | partial | January 3, 2025 |
| Fort Pierce Utilities Authority - Solar Water Heating Rebate | Rebate Program | Utility | partial | February 7, 2025 |
| Ocala Utility Services - Solar Hot Water Heating Rebate Program | Rebate Program | Utility | partial | February 11, 2025 |
| Orlando Utilities Commission - Solar Programs | Performance-Based Incentive | Utility | partial | September 23, 2025 |
| Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF) | Loan Program | Local | partial | January 2, 2026 |
Programme index from DSIRE, N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, NC State University, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. “Partial” means it reaches only some utilities or counties. A listed programme can still be closed or out of budget, so check its own page before counting on it.
How Florida ranks
Closest on payback: Mississippi (16.0 yrs), South Dakota (16.0 yrs), Arkansas (16.4 yrs), Idaho (16.7 yrs).
Solar in Florida, answered
How much do solar panels cost in Florida?
An 8 kW system in Florida, roughly 20 panels, costs about $32,640 before incentives. That is based on $4.08 per watt, the median Florida households actually paid across 938 installations reported to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for 2024-2025. The middle half of buyers paid between $2.62 and $5.76 per watt. There is no longer a federal tax credit to subtract from that figure.
Is there still a 30% solar tax credit in Florida?
No. The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Internal Revenue Code section 25D was terminated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for expenditures made after 31 December 2025, and it did not step down first. A Florida homeowner buying a system with cash or a loan today receives no federal tax credit. Under a lease or power purchase agreement the credit survives as section 48E but belongs to the company that owns the equipment, not to the household. Florida still has 17 state, utility or local programmes covering rooftop solar.
How long do solar panels take to pay for themselves in Florida?
About 16.3 years in Florida. An 8 kW system costs roughly $32,640 and saves about $1,715 in its first year at the state's average residential rate of 15.03 cents per kilowatt-hour (EIA, July 2026). That calculation includes no federal tax credit, because the residential credit ended after 31 December 2025.
How much electricity does a solar panel produce in Florida?
Each kilowatt of panels in Florida produces about 1,426 kilowatt-hours a year, modelled at Jacksonville facing south at a 20 degree tilt using NSRDB radiation data. An 8 kW system therefore makes roughly 11,408 kilowatt-hours a year. The national average is about 1,332 kilowatt-hours per kilowatt installed.
Is solar worth it in Florida?
It depends less on sunshine than on your electricity price. In Florida power costs 15.03 cents per kilowatt-hour (EIA, July 2026), which makes an 8 kW system pay for itself in about 16.3 years and clear roughly $22,192 over 25 years. Solar from your own roof works out at 12.1 cents per kilowatt-hour over its life, against 15.03 cents from the utility.
How many solar panels do I need in Florida?
A typical Florida installation is about 20 panels, which is 8 kW at the 400 watt module that is now standard and needs roughly 440 square feet of roof. To size it to your own use, divide your annual kilowatt-hours by 1,426, which is what each kilowatt of panels produces in Florida each year.
Do solar panels work in winter in Florida?
Yes, but output falls sharply. In Jacksonville a kilowatt of panels makes about 144 kilowatt-hours in May and about 94 in Dec, a swing of 1.5 to 1 across the year. A system sized to cover your annual consumption will therefore run a surplus in summer and leave you buying power in winter, so how your utility settles that difference matters as much as the size of the array.
Three competing quotes beat any amount of comparing panel brands
Sales cost and margin are over a third of an installed price in Florida, and they are the part that competition removes. A single quote from whoever reached you first is how people end up in the top quarter of what their neighbours paid.
Plain outbound links. We take no phone numbers and sell no leads: you give your details to the company that will actually call you, not to us.
Prices and rules change. We will tell you when they do
Berkeley Lab publishes installed prices once a year, the EIA updates electricity rates every month, and Congress changed the tax treatment of all of this in 2025. One email when something on this site actually changes, and nothing else.
Email address only. No phone field, no passing you to installers, unsubscribe in one click.