The average cost of solar panels in Arizona is $21,011 if you include the savings you can get from the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC). However, this average is only so useful since the price you’ll pay for a solar energy system depends on the quality of the equipment you choose, the solar panel installation company you go with, what extra options you choose, and more.
In this guide, I’ll cover everything you need to know about the cost of solar in Arizona so that you have the information you need to make sure you get a good deal on your rooftop solar system.
4.4
Installs high-quality Maxeon panels
Outstanding customer support
Best-in-class warranty lasts 40 years
3.7
Affordable prices
Excellent selection of panels and services
Locations in 22 states
4.3
No payments needed for 18 months
Provides in-house financing
Offers top brands like LG and Trina
3.9
Highly rated customer service
Provides 24/7 panel monitoring
Solid A+ rating with the BBB
How Much Do Solar Panels Cost in Arizona?
Without any incentives, an average-sized 11.5 kilowatt (kW) solar energy system will run you $30,015, on average. Luckily, the U.S. government has a solar incentive that lets you claim 30% of the total cost of your solar system as a tax credit. Accounting for this federal tax credit effectively reduces the cost of a solar power system in Arizona to $21,011, $9,000 less than you’d otherwise have to pay.
It’s important to realize that this tax credit is not a tax refund, meaning you’ll only benefit if you owe federal taxes.
People often talk about the total cost of solar systems in terms of their price per watt to get a sense of how expensive solar is without worrying about comparing systems of different sizes. The average cost per watt for solar equipment in Arizona is $2.61, $0.05 per watt cheaper than the national average of $2.66 per watt.
The table below summarizes the cost of solar panel systems of varying sizes.
| Solar System Size | Energy Use (monthly) | House Size (square feet) | Total Cost (before incentives) | Cost After the Federal ITC | Energy Savings |
| 9 kW | 900 kWh | 1,600 | $23,490 | $16,443 | $17,415 |
| 10 kW | 1,000 kWh | 1,800 | $26,100 | $18,270 | $19,350 |
| 11 kW | 1,100 kWh | 2,000 | $28,710 | $20,097 | $21,285 |
| 12 kW | 1,200 kWh | 2,200 | $31,320 | $21,924 | $23,220 |
| 13 kW | 1,300 kWh | 2,400 | $33,930 | $23,751 | $25,155 |
| 14 kW | 1,400 kWh | 2,600 | $36,540 | $25,578 | $27,090 |
| 15 kW | 1,500 kWh | 2,800 | $39,150 | $27,405 | $29,025 |
What Affects Arizona Solar System Costs?
Several factors influence the price of solar systems in Arizona, including the following:
- The state’s above-average utility bills
- The company that performs the installation
- The brand of equipment you choose
Other variables also affect the price you’ll pay for solar, but to a lesser extent. I’ll explain these three main factors in detail in the following sections.
High Electricity Bills
Arizonans use more kilowatt-hours (kWh) each month than the residents of most states, mostly to escape from the state’s oppressive heat. Arizona’s average monthly energy bill is $136.70 compared to the national average of $117.46. Arizona’s electricity rates are actually fairly affordable compared to other states, but the increased energy consumption still makes it so that Arizona residents pay more each month for their electricity.
How much energy you use affects the size of the solar system you need to offset your consumption, driving up the total cost of going solar. Despite Arizona’s southerly latitude and the fact that it’s the sunniest state in the country, Arizona households need larger-than-average systems to be able to keep up with the average home’s energy needs.
One good thing that comes from having higher-than-average electricity bills is that the potential for savings is also greater. It only takes Arizona homeowners 12 years for their solar systems to pay for themselves, and the average lifetime savings from switching to solar comes out to just under $24,000.
I always recommend looking for a company that performs energy audits before installing solar panels, especially in a state where the average energy consumption is so high. An energy audit can help you find places to improve your home’s overall energy efficiency, which will save you money and help you choose an appropriately-sized solar system.
The Company You Choose
Not all solar providers charge the same rates, even for installing identical equipment. Some companies also upcharge for additional services like interconnection with the grid, net metering sign-up services, permitting, and administration fees.
Companies that offer more generous warranties also often charge more up-front to cover the long-term costs of supporting their installations. Even though this adds to the total up-front cost, I believe it’s worth it for the peace of mind you get from knowing your system is protected.
I recommend getting as many solar quotes from as many different companies as you can before making a decision. Getting multiple free quotes lets you compare prices from different companies but also gives you a sense of what it’s like dealing with each installer.
The Brand of Equipment
All of the best solar installers in Arizona install high-quality monocrystalline solar panels from the solar industry’s top manufacturers. However, there is a range of quality even among the top brands. Maxeon’s panels have the highest efficiency ratings and are the best residential panels available on the market today. Unsurprisingly, they are also quite expensive, coming in at around $3.30 per watt, almost $0.70 per watt more than the Arizona state average of $2.61.
Other brands like QCells, Trina, LONGi, and Canadian Solar are more budget-friendly but also less energy-efficient than Maxeon panels. Luckily, you don’t need the highest efficiency panels in a state like Arizona, where sunshine is easy to come by. That means you can save some money by going with a lower-cost option (I’ll discuss this in more detail later).
Featured Video: Does This AZ Homeowner’s Cost Savings Make Solar Worth It?
Will You Be On the Hook for Any Other Solar Costs in Arizona?
While you’re busy adding up the cost of the equipment and labor, don’t forget to add in other potential costs like fees for permitting, admin fees, and charges for extra equipment you might want installed. Here’s a quick summary of the most common additional costs Arizona solar customers encounter when they make the switch to renewable energy:
- Permits: Most Arizona municipalities charge a fee for a building permit before you’re legally allowed to install a home solar system. Many solar companies include permitting fees in their quotes, but some don’t. The good news is that permit fees don’t amount to much, with most falling between $50 and $250.
- Administration fees: Most solar installers charge a small fee for connecting your system to the grid and signing you up for net metering with your local electric company. These fees vary depending on what company you hire and what utility company you have. Admin fees only cost a few hundred dollars at most, which is easy to overlook when you’re spending around twenty grand on a solar system.
- Additional equipment: Adding a solar battery or electric vehicle (EV) charging station to your solar panel installation costs anywhere from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands, depending on what extra equipment you want. The Tesla Powerwall battery — a popular solar energy storage solution in Arizona — costs between $10,000 and $15,000, depending on local equipment costs. Low-end EV chargers add about $2,500 to your system’s total cost, while a high-quality level 2 option will run you between $10,000 and $12,500, including installation costs.
One thing you don’t have to worry about accounting for is the cost of incidental equipment like a roof rack mount and inverters. These components are almost always included in the quote you’ll get from a solar installer.
4.4
Installs high-quality Maxeon panels
Outstanding customer support
Best-in-class warranty lasts 40 years
3.7
Affordable prices
Excellent selection of panels and services
Locations in 22 states
4.3
No payments needed for 18 months
Provides in-house financing
Offers top brands like LG and Trina
3.9
Highly rated customer service
Provides 24/7 panel monitoring
Solid A+ rating with the BBB
What Should Arizona Homeowners Expect to Pay for Routine Solar Panel Maintenance?
Arizona is one of the few states where regular solar panel maintenance is often required or at least recommended. The state’s lack of rainfall means that solar panels can accumulate a coating of dust and debris over time that inhibits their energy production.
Whether or not you pay a professional to clean your panels for you is up to you, but I recommend keeping your panels clean yourself, at the very least. Washing away any dust or foreign objects that accumulate on them with water is relatively easy to do yourself and can save you $100 or so on a maintenance visit.
Other maintenance that involves fixing physical or electrical problems is best left to your solar installer and should be covered under your solar warranty. As such, it shouldn’t cost you anything.
Is Arizona a Good State for Solar Panel Costs?
Arizona’s cost per watt for solar equipment is $2.61, $0.05 below the national average cost per watt of $2.66. However, Arizona homeowners use more energy on average than the residents of other states, which means that Arizona’s total cost of going solar is a bit higher than average.
Arizona’s typical solar panel system size is 11.5 kW and costs $30,015 before the federal solar income tax credit. After the federal solar tax credit, the effective cost drops to just $21,011. For comparison, the national average system size is 9 kW, and the average cost is $23,940 before the tax credit and $16,758 after the tax credit.
It’s not all bad news, though. Arizona is one of the best states in the country for solar incentives, which I’ll cover in more detail in an upcoming section.
The Financing Option You Choose Will Impact Your Solar Savings in Arizona
How you choose to finance your solar panels affects the total savings you’ll get over the course of your system’s life span. A cash purchase is the best option if you want to maximize your long-term savings, but it also comes with the greatest up-front costs. Solar installers typically offer financing in the form of solar loans, leases, and power purchase agreements (PPAs) to make their systems affordable for people who can’t pay in full up-front.
Here’s a look at each financing option in more detail:
- Cash: If you can afford to pay for your system in cash, you should. Paying cash will save you the most money in the long run and has the shortest payback period — about 12 years in Arizona. Paying cash also makes you eligible for the federal ITC, which effectively saves you 30% by reducing your federal tax burden.
- Solar loan: The next best option is to finance your system with a solar loan. Most solar loans come with no money down and reasonable rates between 5% and 10%. You won’t save as much money with a solar loan as you will with cash since you’ll have to pay interest, but the non-existent up-front cost is nice to have. Purchasing solar panels via a solar loan leads to panel ownership, so you can still take advantage of the federal tax credit.
- Solar lease: If you can’t get approved for a solar loan, you might consider leasing solar panels instead. I don’t recommend leases unless you can’t afford to go solar any other way. Solar leases don’t lead to panel ownership, so you can’t take the federal ITC. Leases also don’t add value to your home, while paying cash and financing via a loan increase the value of your home since you own the panels once they’re paid off. The total savings from leasing panels is less than 25% of the savings you’d get from purchasing your panels outright.
- PPA: Power purchase agreements are similar to leases in that you don’t own the panels that get installed on your roof. Instead, you purchase the power the panels generate from your solar company in an arrangement that’s very similar to the way you purchase electricity from your utility company. PPAs save you even less money than leases and aren’t eligible for the federal ITC.
The table below provides an overview of the different financing methods, how much you can save with each, and the time it takes for your system to pay for itself.
| Financing Method | Total 25-Year Savings | Up-front Costs | Monthly Payments | Payback Period |
| Cash | $23,891 | $21,011 | $0 | 12 years |
| Loan | $18,500 | $0 | $87 – $350 | 17 years |
| Lease | $5,000 | $0 | $121 | N/A |
| PPA | $4,000 | $0 | $121 | N/A |
How Else Can Arizona Homeowners Save Money When Going Solar?
Even with the federal solar tax incentive, $21,011 is still a major expense for most people. Luckily, Arizona residents have more opportunities to save money when making the switch to solar energy. Here are the three best ways to save on solar in Arizona:
Solar Incentives
Arizona has several state-level incentives that encourage its residents to install clean energy solutions like solar panels, solar batteries, and other renewable technologies.
The biggest state-level incentive Arizona offers is a state tax credit called the Residential Solar Energy Tax Credit, which lets you claim 25% of your system’s total cost up to a maximum of $1,000 to decrease your state tax liability for the year when you have a qualifying solar system installed. This is directly analogous to the federal tax credit, but it’s administered by the Arizona state government instead, so it’s often simply called the Arizona solar tax credit.
Arizona also makes solar energy purchases exempt from the state’s 5.6% sales tax. This sales tax exemption amounts to a one-time savings of $1,680 at the time of purchase.
Similarly, Arizona homeowners don’t have to pay property taxes on the increased value of their homes from solar panels. Solar systems add about 4.1% to the value of a home, according to a study conducted by real estate technology company Zillow. This property tax exemption will save you about $2,500 over the course of the average system’s 25-year life span by not having to pay additional property taxes.
Finally, Arizona has a net billing program that lets solar customers sell the energy their systems produce back to their utility company for a credit. This policy is an update to the state’s previous net metering service and, unfortunately, lowers the compensation rate from the full retail electricity rate to the avoided-cost rate.
Net billing is still beneficial to homeowners who switch to solar, but the amount of money you save selling excess energy back to the grid is lower now than it was in the past. One effect this has is that it makes solar batteries a more attractive option. Rather than selling excess electricity back to your electric company for a lower rate, storing that excess in a solar battery lets you use it later, which saves you money at the full retail rate since you don’t have to draw power from the grid.
Having a solar battery also makes you immune to short-lived power outages since you can continue using electricity by drawing power from your battery backup. Whether solar batteries are worth the additional cost depends on your tolerance for blackouts and your monthly energy consumption.
Check out this article about Arizona’s solar incentives to learn about each incentive in more detail.
Go With Cheaper Panels
High-efficiency panels are necessary for homes in northern states and places that don’t get much sunshine, neither of which apply to Arizona. The Grand Canyon State gets more than enough sunshine for you to be able to get away with a less efficient and more affordable option.
I recommend asking your solar installer about popular, affordable brands like QCells and REC, which are known for offering a balance between quality and affordability. Maxeon panels are great, but their additional efficiency isn’t usually necessary in a state like Arizona, making it hard to justify the significantly higher cost.
Energy Efficiency Upgrades
An often overlooked way to save money when switching to solar panels is making your home more energy-efficient overall. If your windows and doors don’t have good seals, some of the energy you expend keeping your home cool is lost as the cold air escapes. Buying energy-efficient doors and windows or paying to have the seals upgraded can lower your energy usage, which means the solar energy your system produces goes further.
I also recommend looking into upgrading old appliances with new energy-efficient options. Modern appliances are designed to use less energy than their older counterparts, which lowers your energy costs, saving you money and possibly allowing you to get away with a smaller solar system.
Look for Energy Star-certified appliances, as these are vetted and come with guarantees. Some Energy Star-certified products are also eligible for government-sponsored rebate programs, which can drastically lower the cost of upgrading.
How Much Do Arizona’s Solar Installers Charge?
I’ve already mentioned that the average price of a solar system in Arizona is $21,011, but there is quite a bit of variability from one company to the next. Where you live also matters since prices tend to be higher in cities like Phoenix and Tucson compared to more rural parts of the same.
To help you start your search for an installer, I’ve put together the following table summarizing each of the best solar installers in Arizona.
| Solar Company | Superlative | TH Rating | BBB Rating | Average Cost |
| SunPower | Best National Company | 5.0 / 5.0 | A+ | $$$$ |
| ADT Solar | Best Warranty Coverage | 4.8 / 5.0 | A- | $$$ |
| Tesla | Best Technology | 4.6 / 5.0 | B | $$ |
| Palmetto Solar | Best Customer Service | 4.7 / 5.0 | A+ | $$$$ |
| Elevation Solar | Best Customization Options | 4.5 / 5.0 | N/A | $$$ |
| Sun Valley Solar Systems | Best Local Installer | 4.3 / 5.0 | A+ | $$ |
| Verde Solar Power | Outstanding Local Installer | 4.0 / 5.0 | A+ | $$ |
How Are Solar Costs and Regulations Trending In Arizona?
Solar costs are falling in Arizona, with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reporting that the price of solar equipment has decreased by 54% over the last decade. I expect this trend to continue as solar technology continues to become cheaper to manufacture, and competition in the market drives prices lower.
However, Arizona is one of the many states that have recently moved from net metering to net billing. While that’s not the same as prices for solar going up, it is an indication that the amount of money you can save decreases over time as utility companies and the state’s government tightens up on solar incentive programs.
Overall, it seems likely that the costs associated with going solar in Arizona will continue to decline for the foreseeable future. With that said, I think it’s still better to invest in a solar system now rather than wait for prices to drop. It’s not clear how much more affordable solar will get over the next few years, and you’ll save more money more quickly by making the switch now and enjoying the benefits of rooftop solar.
FAQs About Arizona Solar Panel Costs
Are solar panels in Arizona worth it?
Yes, they are. Solar panels pay for themselves in 12 years and offer lifetime savings of more than $23,000 for the typical Arizona household. The high upfront costs of solar panels scare many people away, but most solar companies offer excellent financing options that make going solar much more affordable than you might think. Additionally, installing solar panels increases your home value, which makes it easy to recoup your investment should you decide to move later on.
How long does it take for solar panels to pay for themselves in Arizona?
The average payback period in Arizona is 12 years, assuming you pay for your panels in cash. If you finance your panels with a solar loan, the payback period is typically 17 years, although it will vary depending on the loan’s term, rate, and down payment.
How much can solar panels save in Arizona?
How much you can save by installing solar panels in Arizona depends on your home’s energy needs, the equipment you have installed, and your local electricity rate. On average, Arizonans stand to save around $23,000 over the course of their solar system’s lifespan, assuming an 11.5 kW system and an average monthly electricity bill of around $136.
