Payback Math

Every input a payback figure rests on — production, rate, escalation, financing — rebuilt for a year with no 30% federal credit behind it.

Payback Math August 20, 2026 Four Numbers on Your Electric Bill Decide If Solar Pays Georgia Power prints 15.08 cents per kWh; the kWh actually costs 21.29. Four lines on your own bill set a solar payback, and two of them are not printed. 11 min read

About this section

Three quotes for the same roof came back with three different payback figures — seven years, nine, and fourteen. Priya Raghunathan rebuilt all three in a spreadsheet to find where they diverged, and the spreadsheet turned into this site. She does not work in the energy industry and has never sold, financed, or installed a system. Every number here is traced to a utility tariff sheet, a regulator's decision, or a published standard, and the arithmetic is written out so you can redo it on your own bill.

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Every guide cites the agency, statute, or document it was checked against, and carries the date it was checked. Rules change — if something here is out of date, tell us and it gets corrected.