Solar Calculator for Florida: Costs, Incentives & ROI
Florida is the third-largest residential solar market in the United States by installed capacity, behind only California and Texas, and the Sunshine State's combination of abundant sun, rising retail rates, and a strong package of tax exemptions makes solar a fundamentally favorable proposition for most owner-occupied homes. The state's three large investor-owned utilities — Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida, and Tampa Electric Company — currently operate one-to-one residential net-metering programs that credit excess generation at the same retail rate the customer pays, although the program rules have been the subject of active legislative and Public Service Commission debate. Florida homeowners face one factor most other states do not: hurricane wind loading. Modern panels and mounting systems are engineered to meet or exceed Florida Building Code wind requirements, but Miami-Dade and Broward counties enforce a stricter High-Velocity Hurricane Zone standard that affects installer choice, mounting hardware selection, and inspection workflow. Use the calculator below to estimate your specific 25-year savings based on your ZIP code, utility, system size, and electricity usage.
Incentive data updated: May 2026(may be outdated)
Average Solar Cost in Florida
Average installed solar costs in Florida typically run between $2.40 and $3.00 per watt for residential systems before any incentives, based on Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Tracking the Sun data and EnergySage marketplace pricing. A typical 6 kW system therefore costs roughly $14,400 to $18,000 before the federal Investment Tax Credit — slightly below the national residential average of about $3.00 per watt thanks to a competitive installer market, year-round installation weather, and streamlined municipal permitting in counties like Orange, Hillsborough, and Duval. Coastal and HVHZ permitting in Miami-Dade and Broward typically adds $0.10 to $0.20 per watt because of stricter mounting hardware, third-party engineering letters, and longer inspection cycles. The 30 percent federal Investment Tax Credit, available through 2032 under the Inflation Reduction Act, applies to the full cost of equipment plus labor and permitting, which brings the net cost of a typical 6 kW system down to approximately $10,100 to $12,600. Florida does not offer a state income tax credit because the state has no personal income tax, but the sales tax exemption on solar equipment (Florida Statute 212.08(7)(hh)) and the property tax exemption on added home value (Statute 196.175) — described in the FAQ — combine into one of the most generous bundles in the country.
- Avg. installed cost
- $2.70/W
- Typical 6 kW system
- $14,400–$18,000
Top Solar Incentives in Florida
Live incentive data not currently available for Florida. See the federal incentive guidance via our Solar Tax Credit Calculator.
Electricity Rates in Florida
Residential electricity rates in Florida sit near the national average but have risen meaningfully over the last several rate cases. The 2025 statewide average runs near 15 cents per kilowatt-hour according to EIA data, with Florida Power & Light typically slightly below average and Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric Company sitting at or above the statewide mark. Florida investor-owned utility rates are predominantly flat or simple-tiered rather than time-of-use, which means each kilowatt-hour of self-consumed solar production avoids the full retail rate regardless of time of day. Residential net-metering programs at all three large IOUs currently credit excess monthly generation at the full retail rate up to the customer's monthly consumption, with any leftover annual surplus rolled forward or paid out at avoided-cost at the end of the calendar year. JEA in Jacksonville, OUC in Orlando, Gainesville Regional Utilities, and the rural electric cooperatives operate their own net-metering schedules; most still offer near-retail-rate credit but specific caps and rollover rules vary. Florida customers should confirm the precise net-metering tariff in effect at interconnection because Public Service Commission rulemaking has revisited residential solar compensation multiple times in recent years.
Peak Sun Hours in Florida
Florida averages between 4.8 and 5.6 peak sun hours per day across the peninsula, with the strongest values along the central and southern interior and slightly lower values along the Gulf Coast and Panhandle. Miami, Orlando, and the Treasure Coast average roughly 5.2 to 5.6 hours; Tampa and Tallahassee sit closer to 5.0 to 5.3; and the Panhandle averages around 4.8 to 5.0. Florida's solar resource is notably consistent year-round compared with northern latitudes because summer rainy-season afternoon thunderstorms produce short-duration drops rather than the multi-week winter dips seen in higher-latitude states. The result is that annual energy yields for properly oriented residential systems in Florida frequently match or exceed yields in nominally sunnier desert markets once heat-related panel derate and dust soiling are accounted for. NREL's PVWatts tool uses ZIP-code-level Typical Meteorological Year data to model month-by-month variation specific to your address, so the production estimate from the calculator below reflects local microclimate rather than just statewide averages.
Example ROI for a 6 kW System
- Estimated annual savings
- $1,350
- Payback period
- 8.8 years
- 25-year net savings
- $27,500
Run a personalized estimate with your ZIP code using the Solar ROI Calculator.
Major Cities in Florida
- Miami33101
- Orlando32801
- Tampa33602
- Jacksonville32202
- Fort Lauderdale33301
Common Questions About Solar in Florida
Will my solar panels survive a Florida hurricane?
Modern residential solar panels are tested to IEC 61215 and UL 61730 standards that require the module and frame to withstand mechanical stresses well in excess of typical Category 3 hurricane wind loads, and most reputable installers in Florida design racking and mounting to exceed Florida Building Code 7th Edition wind requirements. Miami-Dade and Broward counties are inside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone and require additional engineering documentation, NOA-approved (Notice of Acceptance) mounting hardware, and stricter inspection. Homeowner insurance policies typically cover wind damage to roof-mounted solar as part of dwelling coverage, but premium adjustments and named-storm deductibles vary by carrier — owners should notify their insurance carrier of the installation and request a binder update. Microinverter or DC optimizer systems tend to recover more gracefully than central string inverter designs if a small number of panels are damaged because production losses are localized rather than affecting the whole array.
Does Florida have property tax and sales tax exemptions for solar?
Yes, both. Florida Statute 196.175 (Renewable Energy Source Devices) exempts 80 percent of the just value added by a residential solar installation from ad valorem property tax assessment for homestead properties — effectively shielding the great majority of the added home value from property tax increases. Florida Statute 212.08(7)(hh) separately exempts residential solar energy systems from state and local sales tax on equipment and installation materials. The combination of these two exemptions plus the 30 percent federal Investment Tax Credit eliminates virtually all tax-related friction on a residential solar purchase in Florida. There is no Florida state income tax, so there is no parallel state income tax credit. Both exemptions are automatic once the system is permitted and installed; homeowners should keep their installer's permit, final inspection, and equipment invoices on file for property appraiser verification.
How does FPL net metering work and what should I expect?
Florida Power & Light credits residential net-metering customers at the full retail rate on a kilowatt-hour basis. Each month, the customer's exported solar energy offsets imported grid energy on the bill; any month with a net surplus rolls forward as a credit balance at the customer's full retail rate. At the end of the calendar year, any remaining unused credit is paid out at FPL's COG-1 avoided-cost rate, which is significantly lower than the retail rate. The implication for sizing is that an FPL solar system is most economical when sized to roughly match annual consumption rather than significantly oversized, because annual surplus pays out at avoided cost rather than retail. FPL requires a standard interconnection agreement and a bi-directional meter installation, both of which the installer typically coordinates. Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric Company operate broadly similar programs with utility-specific application forms and slightly different annual true-up rules.
Is leasing or a Florida Solar Loan a better choice than buying?
For most owner-occupied homeowners in Florida, an outright cash purchase or a low-rate solar loan delivers materially better lifetime economics than a third-party-owned lease or power-purchase agreement (PPA). The reason is that the 30 percent federal Investment Tax Credit, the Florida sales tax exemption, and the property tax exemption all flow to the system owner — under a lease or PPA, the third-party owner captures the federal tax credit and resells solar production to the homeowner at a contracted rate that typically escalates 1.99 to 2.99 percent per year. Several Florida-specific credit-union and bank solar loan products offer competitive rates with terms up to 25 years and no prepayment penalty, and the loan interest may be tax-deductible if the loan is secured by the home. Owners who cannot use the federal tax credit because of low federal income tax liability sometimes find a lease or PPA more attractive, but the lifetime savings differential is generally several thousand dollars in favor of ownership.
Which Florida utility offers the best solar economics?
Solar economics in Florida depend more on a homeowner's specific retail rate, roof orientation, and roof shading than on which utility serves the address, because all three large investor-owned utilities currently offer one-to-one residential net metering at retail rate. Among the large IOUs, Tampa Electric Company typically posts the highest residential rates, followed by Duke Energy Florida and then Florida Power & Light — so a kilowatt-hour of self-consumed solar typically saves a few cents more on a TECO bill than on an FPL bill of the same size. Several municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives offer additional small per-kilowatt incentives or favorable interconnection terms; Orlando Utilities Commission's Project Sun, for example, has historically included community-solar and rebate components. Always confirm your specific rate schedule, net-metering tariff, and any current interconnection queue before sizing your system.