Calculate solar savings first
Start with a ready California example, then change the state, annual production or installed cost.
Your solar scenario
State electricity data and verified utility-rate context use the same shared CalcuRiver engine.
Start with the statewide EIA average, or choose a verified utility rate where available.
Advanced settings
Solar by state
State-level solar cost and savings models for all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Solar by city
The 100 largest U.S. cities by 2025 Census population ranking.
Solar by utility
Utility-specific solar compensation and savings models.
Solar by utility
Utility-specific solar compensation and savings models.
State and city pages are separate
- State pages use state-level electricity context and planning assumptions.
- City pages are local pages with their own city identity and planning inputs.
- Exact roof production, installation quote and utility export rules stay editable rather than invented.
Methodology
CalcuRiver keeps state and city entities separate while using the same transparent calculator model.
How CalcuRiver models solar
Production
Solar production uses CalcuRiver planning benchmarks based on PVWatts-style location assumptions; roof geometry and shading are not inferred.
Electricity value
State electricity benchmarks come from the current EIA residential-rate dataset, while utility-specific export rules are modeled separately where supported.
Cost
Installed-cost inputs are planning benchmarks, not installer quotes.
Guardrails
Advanced hourly, vintage or rider-specific tariffs remain guarded when a simple annual model would be misleading.
- NREL PVWatts · production methodology
- EIA Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A · 2026-07 · residential electricity benchmark
Methodology: Solar utility model · CalcuRiver methodology.
Continue across CalcuRiver
What changes when you add a home battery?
Estimate how usable storage, round-trip efficiency, export compensation and supported utility TOU plans change solar self-consumption and payback.
Why this solar estimate changes
Solar value is driven by local production, installed cost, the retail value of electricity you avoid buying, and the compensation you receive for exported energy. CalcuRiver does not assume export credits equal the retail rate unless that utility program is explicitly verified.
Core logic: self-used solar offsets retail purchases; exported solar is valued only under a verified export-compensation rule.
Methodology & source policy