Are Solar Panels Worth It in Virginia? 2026 Cost & Payback
The average Virginia residential electricity customer uses about 1,032 kWh a month and pays 16.58¢ per kWh — roughly $171 a month. Covering that takes a 8.1 kW system costing about $23,862, which pays for itself in about 10 yr 7 mo.
- Payback
- 10 yr 7 mo
- from switch-on
- System size
- 8.1 kW
- to cover annual use
- Up-front cost
- $23,862
- no federal credit available
- 25-yr net gain
- $41,800
- after paying it off
#15 of 51 states by payback period — better than the national median of 13 yr 6 mo. Best is Maine at 7 yr 4 mo. See full rankings.
Price is the deciding factor here.
At the modelled installed price of $23,862, payback is 10 yr 7 mo. It reaches 10 years at about $22,468 installed — $1,394 below our baseline, or roughly 6% off.
Your 10-year target price: $22,468
Compare local solar quotes. We do not yet have a quote partner we are willing to send you to, so there is no button here. Take the target price above to two or three local installers and compare against it.
Worth doing only if the quotes come in under that number.
Solar payback calculator — Virginia
Adjust any input to see how the payback period moves.
Pays for itself in
10 yr 7 mo
from switch-on
25-year net gain
$41,772
after paying it off
System size
8.1 kW
Up-front cost
$23,850
Year 1 savings
$2,052
Year 1 output
12,376 kWh
Federal residential clean-energy credit: 0% for new 2026 installations. The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (IRC §25D) is not available for a system whose installation is completed after 31 December 2025. What counts is when installation is finished, not when you paid. Why.
The numbers behind it
| Average electricity rate | 16.58¢ / kWh |
|---|---|
| Peak sun hours per day | 5.28 hours |
| Annual yield per kW installed | 1,528 kWh |
| Average residential electricity use | 1,032 kWh / month |
| System size needed | 8.1 kW |
| Installed cost per watt | $2.94 |
| Gross system cost | $23,862 |
| Federal residential clean-energy credit | None (§25D unavailable for 2026 installations) |
| Net up-front cost | $23,862 |
| First-year output | 12,384 kWh |
| First-year savings | $2,053 |
| Solar export policy | Retail-rate net metering |
| Value of exported power | Full retail rate |
| Payback period | 10 yr 7 mo |
| 25-year net gain | $41,800 |
Price is the deciding factor here.
At the modelled installed price of $23,862, payback is 10 yr 7 mo. It reaches 10 years at about $22,468 installed — $1,394 below our baseline, or roughly 6% off.
Your 10-year target price: $22,468
Compare local solar quotes. We do not yet have a quote partner we are willing to send you to, so there is no button here. Take the target price above to two or three local installers and compare against it.
Worth doing only if the quotes come in under that number.
Net metering in Virginia
Virginia credits every exported kilowatt-hour at the full retail rate, so the grid effectively acts as a free battery. This is the most favourable arrangement and shortens payback considerably.
Common questions
How much do solar panels cost in Virginia?
At around $2.94 per watt installed, the 8.1 kW system a typical Virginia home needs works out to roughly $23,862 before any incentives. The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (IRC §25D) is not available for a system whose installation is completed after 31 December 2025. That makes it the net price too.
How long do solar panels take to pay for themselves in Virginia?
About 10 yr 7 mo. That accounts for panel output falling roughly 0.5% a year and utility rates rising around 2.5% a year, which pull the answer in opposite directions.
Does Virginia have net metering?
Virginia credits every exported kilowatt-hour at the full retail rate, so the grid effectively acts as a free battery. This is the most favourable arrangement and shortens payback considerably. Export compensation can vary by utility, tariff, installation date and customer class; this page uses the published 2026 baseline described in our methodology.
How much will I save over 25 years in Virginia?
Roughly $41,800 after the system has paid for itself — about 175% return on the up-front cost. Savings are larger if electricity prices rise faster than 2.5% a year.
Is Virginia sunny enough for solar?
Virginia averages about 5.28 peak sun hours a day, and a well-oriented array there yields roughly 1,528 kWh per kW installed each year. Sunlight matters less than most people assume — electricity price is the bigger driver, which is why cloudy, expensive states often beat sunny, cheap ones.
How we calculate this
We model 25 years one year at a time rather than dividing cost by first-year savings. Panel output falls 0.5% each year and electricity prices rise 2.5% each year, so the payback figure reflects both.
Production uses the modelled AC yield for Virginia rather than a flat efficiency factor. A peak-sun-hours approximation runs about 9% high, which is enough to make payback look a year faster than it is.
We assume 40% of generation is used in the home as it is produced, with the rest exported and credited according to the state's net metering rules.
Data vintage: Electricity: EIA Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.B (residential, May 2026 YTD). Solar resource: PVGIS v5.3 (EU JRC), ERA5 2005-2023. Gasoline: AAA state averages. Natural gas: EIA residential by state. Heating degree days: NOAA CPC population-weighted normals. Residential consumption: EIA Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price Table 5.A, average monthly kWh per residential customer, 2024. Vehicle miles: FHWA Highway Statistics 2023. Retrieved 2026-08-03/04 and 2026-08-21. Install costs, net-metering status, time-of-use spreads and outage hours remain estimates.
How Virginia compares
| # | State | Payback period |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maine | 7 yr 4 mo |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 7 yr 8 mo |
| 3 | New York | 7 yr 9 mo |
| 4 | Rhode Island | 7 yr 9 mo |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 8 yr 3 mo |
| 6 | New Jersey | 8 yr 11 mo |
| 7 | District of Columbia | 9 yr |
| 8 | Hawaii | 9 yr 4 mo |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 9 yr 5 mo |
| 10 | Maryland | 9 yr 5 mo |
Computed from the same model as this page. Full national findings · how this is calculated · data sources