Solar, explained without the sales pitch
The questions our calculators raise, answered properly. No lead forms, no "average savings" hand-waving — just how the money actually works, written by people who built the math behind the tools.
How to actually cut your electricity bill: every fix, ranked by dollars
Skip the unplug-your-phone-charger advice. What each change really saves a year — thermostat, water heater, phantom loads, pool pumps — and the three things that don’t move the needle.
10 min readHow America gets its power: 1882 to 2026, and where it’s heading
From Pearl Street to the shale gas earthquake to the AI demand boom — the US generation mix decade by decade, in one chart, and why rates are rising again.
11 min readIs solar worth it in 2026? An honest, numbers-first answer
The five things that actually decide whether rooftop solar pays off — and the three situations where it usually doesn’t.
9 min readHow solar payback actually works: the math behind the break-even
What a "payback period" really measures, why two homes on the same street get different answers, and how rate inflation and panel degradation bend the curve.
8 min readNet metering, explained — and why your exports may pay less than you think
Full retail, partial, and the new export rates like California’s NEM 3.0. How your utility credits the power you send back decides half your payback.
8 min readThe federal solar tax credit ended in 2025 — what it means for you
The 30% credit for purchased systems stopped on 31 Dec 2025. What changed, who can still benefit through a lease or PPA, and how it reshapes solar payback.
7 min readSRECs, explained: the solar income most homeowners miss
In a handful of states your panels mint a tradable certificate every megawatt-hour. What they’re worth, where they exist, and how they shorten payback.
6 min readIs a home battery worth it? When storage actually pays
Batteries rarely pay for themselves on backup alone. The three setups where they do — and how new export rates changed the math.
7 min readWhat $3 a watt actually buys: the real cost breakdown of a solar install
Panels are the cheap part. Where your money really goes, why two quotes for the same roof differ by 40%, and what a fair price looks like.
7 min readHow to find your true electricity rate (it’s not the number on the ad)
Supply vs delivery, fixed charges, tiers and time-of-use. How to read your bill and get the one number that makes every solar estimate accurate.
6 min readReady for your own figure? Open the solar payback calculator → or browse payback by state →