About
Almost every solar calculator online is run by someone who wants to sell you panels. The number it shows is tuned to look good, because the point is to capture your details and hand them to installers who will call you until you buy.
SolarPayback is the opposite. It's a paid report, so the business works whether or not you go solar. That means it can tell you the truth: that solar pays back fast in Arizona and slowly in Washington; that California's newer net-metering rules changed the math; that a $3.00/watt quote is fair and a $5.00/watt one is not.
We use the same public data an independent engineer would, NREL for sun, the EIA for rates, the IRS and DSIRE for incentives, and we show our work on the methodology page so you can check it.
We never call you, never sell your details, and never take a commission from an installer. The report costs $15 and that's the entire relationship.
It's a first, unbiased number: the baseline to hold every installer quote against, and the fastest way to tell a fair deal from a bad one before you sign anything.
