CSLB C-10 / C-46 Licensed, Bonded and Insured
Savings estimator
This is a real model, not a lead-capture form dressed up as one. Nothing is gated, nothing is emailed to you, and the assumptions behind every figure are published further down the page.
Your estimate
Estimated annual savings
$3,451
Roughly 90% of your current annual electricity spend, leaving about $32 a month on the bill.
We will model this properly against twelve months of your actual bills.
This is a non-binding estimate produced from the figures you entered. It is not a quote and not a guarantee of savings. A binding number comes only from a written proposal after a site assessment. See the terms of service.
Comparison
The right answer depends on when you use power, not just how much. A daytime-heavy business and an empty-until-six household reach different conclusions from the same array.
Electricity rates in California have not trended downward, and valley consumption is concentrated in exactly the hours that cost the most. Doing nothing is a decision with a price attached, it is simply a price you pay monthly rather than upfront.
An array without storage covers your daytime load well and exports the surplus. Under current export rules that surplus earns a fraction of what you pay to buy power back at seven in the evening, so a meaningful part of the summer bill survives. It is still a sound purchase, particularly for daytime-heavy commercial sites.
Storage lets you spend midday production through the four to nine peak instead of selling it cheaply and buying it back dearly. It costs more upfront and it raises the share of your own generation you actually use. It also keeps the house habitable during an outage, which in August is not a comfort question.
It assumes an unshaded roof with a reasonable orientation, a straightforward electrical service and a consumption pattern close to the valley average. If your roof is heavily shaded, if your main panel is from the 1970s, if you run a pool and two air conditioners against a household that is out all day, or if you are on a commercial tariff where demand charges rather than consumption drive the bill, the real answer moves. That is what the site assessment is for, and it is why we ask for twelve months of history rather than a single number.
Assumptions
A savings estimate with hidden assumptions is a sales tool. Here are ours in full.
Production of roughly 1,750 kWh per installed kW per year, which is a realistic Coachella Valley figure for an unshaded array and materially higher than a coastal California one.
Self-consumption of about 42 percent of production without storage, and about 82 percent with it. Your real figure depends on when you are home and what runs during the day.
Exported surplus credited at roughly a quarter of the retail rate, reflecting current export compensation rather than the older net metering arrangement.
Installed cost between $2.80 and $3.60 per watt before incentives, with storage adding between $11,000 and $16,500. Tile and foam roofs, panel upgrades and difficult access push toward the upper end.
Simple payback is the installed cost divided by first-year savings. It does not model rate escalation, degradation, maintenance, financing interest or any tax credit.
Incentive rules for clean energy have changed materially in recent years, so this calculator deliberately excludes any tax credit rather than quoting a figure that may be out of date. Your written proposal states the current position, and we recommend confirming your own eligibility with your accountant. More on how we work is on the about page, and the common questions are answered on the FAQ.
Next step
Bring twelve months of bills to a thirty minute consultation and we will model it properly against your roof, your panel and your actual rate schedule.