Electricity rates are on the rise across the United States.

Since 2010, they've gone up by over 25%, and rates are expected to keep on rising. Some states, like California, have seen even steeper hikes, with rates increasing by as much as 67% over the past five years.

Plus, as more people charge electric vehicles, convert to electric appliances, and power their tech-filled lives, the demand for electricity is climbing. And with that increased demand comes even higher prices. Without switching to solar to generate your own energy, your monthly bills will only keep growing.

Whether your goal is to reduce your electric bill or eliminate it completely, solar can help make that happen.

While electricity rates keep climbing, the cost of solar keeps falling. And you’ve got plenty of financing options. From purchasing outright for greater long-term savings to financing with low monthly payments that are often less than your current electric bill, there’s a solution for every budget. Once your solar system is in place, you're essentially locking in your energy costs—and protecting yourself from unpredictable utility rate hikes for two decades or more.

With solar, the amount you'll save depends on a few different factors:

• the size of the solar system you choose, and whether or not you add batteries
• how much sun your home gets
• your current electricity prices, the amount of energy you use, and whether programs like net energy metering (NEM) are available to credit you for extra power you generate and send to the grid
• incentives, tax credits, and rebates offered in your area

For example, a typical 6 kW system might cost around $19,500, but applying the 30% federal tax credit reduces that to $13,650. State and local incentives could lower it even more. Based on the average cost of electricity in the U.S, the system would save you about $1,600 per year and pay for itself in about 8 years. With the system continuing to produce efficiently for 25 years or longer, the long-term savings could easily surpass $25,000. 


If you opt for financing, the benefits can still start right away. Imagine financing a system for just $200 a month while cutting $250 off your electric bill—that’s $50 in instant monthly savings, with little or no upfront cost. And as rates climb, so do your savings. 

Adding batteries, like our powerful and reliable Enphase IQ Batteries, can increase your solar savings even more. Your solar system produces energy for an average of 8 to 10 hours per day, but your home uses energy 24 hours a day. Solar batteries can store any extra energy your system produces during the daylight hours; you can then use that energy after the sun sets instead of paying for grid power. 

Using energy stored in your batteries is especially valuable if you live in a state with time-of-use (TOU) rates, where utilities charge more for electricity at certain times of day—usually in the late afternoon and evening when demand is high but your solar panels are no longer producing energy. You can use your batteries to power your home and avoid those higher prices.  

Smart tech like the software that powers the Enphase App can further optimize your system—predicting your energy needs, adjusting for peak rates, and ensuring you’re making the most of your stored energy. Since batteries are also eligible for the 30% federal tax credit, as well as many state, local, and utility incentives that further reduce your upfront cost, they can pay for themselves faster and even earn you money through utility programs that let you send battery energy you don’t need back to the grid at higher buy-back rates.

And during outages, batteries configured for backup also help keep essentials like your refrigerator and Wi-Fi running smoothly. 

Read more about storing solar energy in batteries. 

The costs of solar systems and batteries can be offset with incentives that make solar more accessible, including:

• A 30% federal tax credit that reduces upfront costs significantly;
• State and local rebates tailored to your region;
• Net energy metering (NEM) or net billing credits that reward you for sending excess energy back to the grid;
• Grid services programs that pay you to help balance the power grid with stored energy.

Combined with increasingly affordable technology and financing options, these incentives make now the perfect time to go solar.