Savings and payback

Savings calculator for a second home

Estimate solar savings for a vacation property, factoring in whether your utility offers full net metering or credits unused production at a lower rate.

For planning purposes only, not financial or tax advice; confirm figures with a licensed installer or tax professional before making a purchase decision.

Your numbers

1 Project details Optional
Shown on your exported report. Leave blank to skip.
2 Net metering and occupancy
3 Savings inputs
What the system would save if the home were occupied year-round.

How it works

Three steps to your second home estimate

Step 1

Check your net metering policy

Ask your utility or installer whether excess production is credited at full retail rate or a lower export rate.

Step 2

Enter your full-occupancy savings estimate

Use the result from the solar savings calculator as your starting figure.

Step 3

Read your adjusted 25 year total

The tool adjusts for occupancy only if you don't have full net metering. For a fully-occupied home, see the lifetime savings calculator instead.

Understanding solar savings at a second home

Why occupancy matters, or doesn't

Whether occupancy affects your solar savings depends entirely on your utility's net metering policy. With full net metering, excess production while you're away earns credits at the same rate as your usage, so occupancy doesn't reduce your 25 year savings. Without it, unused production may be credited at a lower avoided-cost rate, which can cut effective savings by roughly half in a low-occupancy scenario. The US Energy Information Administration's electricity data show how retail rates have moved, which is the starting point for any savings estimate.

What net metering does

Net metering lets excess solar production feed back to the grid in exchange for credits, usually at full retail rate, that offset future usage. For a property that sits empty much of the year, this is what makes solar worthwhile, since it lets you bank summer production against future bills rather than losing it. See the bill credit rollover calculator for more on how banked credits carry forward. For the official overview, the US Department of Energy's homeowner's guide to going solar covers buying, leasing, and system sizing.

Checking your policy before you buy

Check your utility's rate schedule or ask a local installer, since net metering rules vary significantly by state and even by utility within a state. Some utilities offer full retail-rate net metering, others use a reduced export rate, and a few have net metering caps or waitlists that could affect a new system's economics. The payback period calculator can help you compare scenarios once you know your policy. The System size for net metering cap limit is the quickest way to check whether the system size behind this estimate fits your roof and usage.

Seasonal considerations

Many second homes see heavier use in one season, which can line up well or poorly with peak solar production depending on your climate. See the seasonal savings variation calculator to model how summer versus winter production affects your specific situation.

Related tools in other categories

To look at this from another angle, see the Off Grid Rv Cabin tools or the System size for net metering cap limit. For the DOE's homeowner's guide to going solar, see DOE.

Questions

Frequently asked

It depends entirely on your utility's net metering policy. With full net metering, excess production while you're away earns credits at the same rate as your usage, so occupancy doesn't reduce your 25 year savings. Without it, unused production may be credited at a lower avoided-cost rate, which can cut effective savings by roughly half in a low-occupancy scenario.

Net metering lets excess solar production feed back to the grid in exchange for credits, usually at full retail rate, that offset future usage. For a property that sits empty much of the year, this is what makes solar worthwhile, since it lets you bank summer production against future bills rather than losing it.

Check your utility's rate schedule or ask a local installer, since net metering rules vary significantly by state and even by utility within a state. Some utilities offer full retail-rate net metering, others use a reduced export rate, and a few have net metering caps or waitlists.

It is a planning estimate built from the inputs you enter, so it is only as good as those inputs. Your utility rate, your system production, and any shading matter most, so check them against a recent bill and your installer's production estimate before you treat the result as final.

Related tools

Keep exploring second home value

Savings for rental property owners Negative bill credit rollover Seasonal savings variation Lifetime savings, 25 year Winter vs summer savings Home value increase estimator Payback period calculator All savings and payback tools