Solar Panel Cost New Jersey: How Much Should You Pay? (2025)

Buying solar panels in New Jersey costs between $7,376 and $18,441 after claiming the federal solar tax credit, with most homeowners spending about $12,909 after credits for a 7 kW setup.

How big is your home? The answer will largely drive your costs. Small homes around 1,100 square feet may only need a 4 kW system (roughly $7,376 after credits), while houses measuring 2,300 square feet often require a larger 10 kW setup (about $18,441 after credits).

Jersey homeowners enjoy some real perks when considering solar — the state’s net metering rules and the SuSI program provide financial benefits that help offset the initial expense.

Your choice between premium and budget-friendly equipment will also sway your final price tag. Maxeon panels cost more but convert more sunlight to electricity, while brands like QCells and REC deliver solid performance at lower prices.

I’ll walk you through everything that goes into the cost of New Jersey solar systems — from equipment and permits to labor and ways to trim your bill. I’ve talked with contractors throughout the state and dug through industry pricing data to bring you the most accurate information possible.

How Much Do Solar Panels Cost in New Jersey?

New Jersey solar installers charge about $2.63 per watt on average, a bit less than the old national benchmark of $2.66. You’d think this might make Jersey solar more expensive overall, but that’s not how it works out. Homes in the Garden State typically use less electricity than houses elsewhere, meaning smaller, less expensive systems can cover your needs.

The average Jersey home burns through about 683 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month (check your electric bill for your usage), while homes nationwide average 893 kWh. For a typical 7 kW installation, you’re looking at $18,441 before federal tax credits kick in, dropping to $12,909 after that 30% discount.

Here’s how solar costs vary across different home sizes in New Jersey:

Home Size (square feet)	System Size (kW)	Monthly Energy Use	Total Cost (before incentives)	Cost After Federal Tax Credit	25-Year Energy Savings
1,100	4 kW	400 kWh	$10,538	$7,376	$11,864
1,300	5 kW	500 kWh	$13,172	$9,221	$14,830
1,500	6 kW	600 kWh	$15,807	$11,065	$17,796
1,700	7 kW	700 kWh	$18,441	$12,909	$20,762
1,900	8 kW	800 kWh	$21,076	$14,753	$23,728
2,100	9 kW	900 kWh	$23,710	$16,597	$26,694
2,300	10 kW	1,000 kWh	$26,345	$18,441	$29,660

What Affects New Jersey Solar System Costs?

Three main things will drive what you pay for solar in New Jersey:

The brand and quality of panels you pick
How big a system your home needs
Which installer you hire

Let me break down how each of these factors hits your wallet.

Equipment Brand

The panels you choose make a huge difference in your bottom line. Since these are the workhorses converting sunshine into electricity, most folks (myself included) suggest monocrystalline panels over polycrystalline options — they’re more efficient and last longer.

Not all mono panels are created equal, though. Maxeon (formerly SunPower) makes what many consider the Ferrari of solar panels. They squeeze more electricity from the same amount of sunshine, which works well when roof space is tight, but boy do they cost more — around $3.15 per watt.

Brands like QCells, REC, and Canadian Solar won’t convert quite as much sunlight, but they’re far from slouches and cost noticeably less. Most homes don’t need the absolute peak performance anyway.

Choosing these mid-range panels instead of premium brands saves roughly $0.30 to $0.50 per watt. Add that up across a 7 kW system, and you’re pocketing $2,100 to $3,500 — maybe enough for a bathroom remodel or to add a couple extra panels.

System Size

It’s pretty obvious that bigger solar setups cost more than smaller ones, but the trick is matching your system exactly to your needs. You don’t want to pay for excess capacity you won’t use. Smart installers will pore over your past electric bills to right-size your system.

Many Jersey homeowners add battery storage to keep the lights on during outages and store daytime surplus for evening use. Adding a battery bumps your project cost by $8,000–$13,000 in most cases.

The sweet spot for most Jersey homes sits around 7 kW, running about $12,909 after tax credits. Smaller homes might get by with a 5 kW setup ($9,221 after credits), while larger houses often need 10 kW systems ($18,441 after credits).

The Solar Installation Company You Choose

No two installers charge the same for identical equipment. Some outfits run lean operations with lower overhead, while others maintain larger crews and more customer support staff.

Watch out for paperwork fees. Some companies tack on charges for connecting your system to the grid — local installers might bill $200–$300 explicitly for this, while big national chains often bury it in their overall price. Different relationships with manufacturers also affect what installers charge for certain panel brands.

Always get quotes from three or more solar companies. You need to understand what different installers charge in your neighborhood. Don’t just compare dollar figures, though — look at customer reviews, warranty coverage, and what kind of support they offer after installation. The cheapest bid rarely delivers the best long-term value.

Featured Video: Learn What New Jersey’s TREC Program Is And How They Differ From SRECs

Will You Be On the Hook for Any Other Solar Costs in New Jersey?

Equipment and labor make up most of your solar bill, but keep an eye out for these additional expenses:

Permit Fees: You’ll need building permits to legally install solar in New Jersey. These run between $50 and $250, depending on where you live. Some forward-thinking towns like Princeton and Cherry Hill charge less to encourage solar adoption.
Administrative Fees: Your utility will charge to connect your system to the grid, though installers typically fold this into their estimate. Getting enrolled in net metering programs might cost another $100–$500. Ask for a clear breakdown of these charges before signing anything.
Extra Equipment: Adding batteries or EV chargers will boost your price by 50–100%. Tesla Powerwall storage systems run $8,000–$13,000, while Level 2 EV chargers typically cost $8,000–$10,500. Basic components like inverters, wiring and mounting hardware usually come included in your initial quote.

Most quotes should cover all essential parts needed for your system. If anything seems fuzzy in the estimate, ask for an itemized breakdown. Good installers welcome questions and won’t hide costs in vague categories.

What Should New Jersey Homeowners Expect to Pay for Routine Solar Panel Maintenance?

Here’s some good news: solar panels need almost zero maintenance in New Jersey. Our regular rainfall keeps panels clean enough to work efficiently, so you won’t need to wash them or hire cleaning services. Just eyeball your array from the ground once or twice a year to check for obvious issues.

If something does break, your warranties should cover repairs. The best solar companies in New Jersey provide comprehensive coverage – equipment warranties lasting 25 years and workmanship guarantees for at least 10 years.

Be skeptical if installers push costly maintenance plans. These rarely deliver much value. When someone tries selling you a maintenance package over $200 yearly, ask them to explain exactly what they’ll do that you couldn’t handle yourself with a quick visual inspection.

Is New Jersey a Good State for Solar Panel Costs?

At $2.63 per watt, New Jersey’s equipment costs run slightly lower than the previous national benchmark of $2.66. But raw equipment prices only tell part of the story.

All-in system costs actually run lower in New Jersey than in many other regions because Jersey homes typically use less electricity than the national average. A standard 7 kW setup runs around $12,909 after federal tax credits — more affordable than the old national average of $16,758.

All told, New Jersey ranks among the more solar-friendly states from a price perspective. Though $12,909 isn’t pocket change, remember solar equipment lasts 25–30 years, making it more like a long-term investment than just another home expense.

The Financing Option You Choose Will Impact Your Solar Savings in New Jersey

How you choose to pay for solar dramatically shifts your long-term financial picture. Let’s compare the four main options:

Cash Purchase: Paying upfront delivers the fattest long-term returns – roughly $62,000 in savings over 25 years for a typical 7 kW Jersey system. You’ll get the full 30% federal tax credit and start saving on electric bills right away. The catch? You need a chunk of money available to make the purchase.
Solar Loan: Most folks finance their systems. Installers partner with lenders offering zero-down solar loans, with interest rates between 5% and 10% and terms from five to 20 years. Monthly payments typically run $55–$225 for Jersey systems. You still own the equipment and qualify for tax incentives with this approach.
Solar Lease: Leases eliminate the upfront cost but slash your long-term benefits. You won’t own the equipment or qualify for tax breaks, and you’ll save only about 20% of what cash buyers pocket. Monthly payments average about $95 for many Jersey homes.
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): With PPAs, you buy the electricity your roof produces rather than leasing the hardware. These deals typically shave 10–15% off current utility rates, but total savings lag far behind ownership options. Like leases, PPAs make sense only when you have no other path to solar.

The following table summarizes the key differences between cash, solar loans, solar leases, and PPAs as solar financing options.

Financing Method	Total 25-Year Savings	Upfront Costs	Monthly Payments	Payback Period
Cash	$62,000	$12,909	$0	9 years
Loan	$48,000	$0	$55–$225	13 years
Lease	$12,000	$0	$95	N/A
PPA	$10,000	$0	$95	N/A

How Else Can New Jersey Homeowners Save Money When Going Solar?

Even though solar panels are more affordable in New Jersey than in most other states, it is still a challenge for many homeowners to find room in their budgets to invest in a rooftop solar system. The following sections outline several ways for New Jersey homeowners to save a little extra cash when they make the switch to solar energy.

Solar Incentives

The federal ITC is the biggest solar incentive available to New Jersey residents, offering 30% of your system’s total cost as a tax credit for the year when you have your panels installed. It’s important to realize that this tax credit will only benefit you if you owe taxes since it’s a credit and not a rebate. You can roll over any credit you don’t use to subsequent years.

New Jersey offers its own solar tax incentives, the largest of which is the Successor Solar Incentive (SuSI) program. This state-sponsored program is the follow-up to the previous solar renewable energy certificate (SREC) program and gives you one credit for every 1,000 kilowatt-hours — one megawatt-hour — your system produces. You can sell your solar renewable energy credits later for money, with the average profit being $10,800 over the course of 15 years.

New Jersey also offers both a sales tax exemption and a property tax exemption for new solar systems. The sales tax exemption makes solar purchases immune to the state’s 6.625% sales tax, saving you an average of around $1,000.

How much you’ll save thanks to the property tax exemption depends on your local property tax rate and the total value your system adds to your home’s value.

Forgo the Solar Batteries

New Jersey has a homeowner-friendly net metering program that credits solar customers for every kWh their system generates at the full retail electricity rate. That means that you can sell excess energy your solar panels produce back to the grid for the same price you pay for electricity. The money you generate through net metering helps offset the energy you use when your panels aren’t producing as much power, for example, during the winter months.

Solar batteries are most helpful in states that don’t compensate you for your excess energy at the retail rate since you can save more money by storing the energy yourself. New Jersey’s laws mandating that utility companies pay you the full retail rate make solar batteries less beneficial overall.

However, solar batteries are still helpful during power outages since they let you continue to use electricity even when the grid isn’t supplying power to your home. New Jersey isn’t a state known for blackouts, but it still might be worth the additional cost if you want to use your solar system as an emergency backup power source.

Choose a More Affordable Brand

I discussed how panel efficiency affects the price of panels earlier, but it’s worth reiterating now. Buying a high-efficiency panel like the ones made by Maxeon will cost you significantly more than purchasing less efficient panels. The tradeoff is that your system won’t produce quite as much energy in similar sunlight conditions, but that shouldn’t be a major concern to most New Jersey homeowners.

Conventional wisdom dictates that northern states require higher-efficiency panels to make going solar worth it, but New Jersey’s middling latitude makes it less important to choose high-efficiency panels. Choosing a more affordable solar panel brand like REC over a premium brand like Maxeon can save you 25%–35% on total system costs.

How Much Do New Jersey’s Solar Installers Charge?

Choosing a solar installer is a daunting task. Different companies charge different prices for identical systems since they offer different warranties and additional services. That makes it hard to tell which companies are offering a good deal and which are trying to take advantage of uninformed consumers.

To help you get your search off on the right foot, I’ve put together this table summarizing the best solar installers in New Jersey. In it, you’ll find a rough estimate of each company’s cost, along with my take on what makes the company one of the best in the Garden State.

Company	Best For	Our Rating	BBB Rating	Link
Tesla Energy Our Review	Best Technology	4.3	NR	Our Review
Momentum Solar Get Quote	Best Customer Service	3.9	A+	Get Quote
Trinity Solar Get Quote	Best Customization Options	3.4	A+	Get Quote
New Jersey Solar Power	Best Local Installer	4.0	NR
Impact Solar, LLC	Most Experienced Provider	4.0	A+

The cost of solar panels has been steadily dropping for over a decade, with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reporting that the price of solar in New Jersey has fallen 54% in the last ten years. I expect that trend to continue as manufacturers continue to innovate and find new ways to make solar technology more affordable to produce.

Even though prices are dropping, it’s still worth purchasing a solar system now rather than waiting for prices to fall even lower. The sooner you install solar panels, the sooner you start saving money on electricity bills, which means you’ll pay off your system sooner. What’s more, many states are passing laws that make solar incentives like net metering less beneficial, which could hamstring your total savings potential if you wait to purchase a system.

The bottom line is that now is the best time to buy solar panels in New Jersey. Prices have never been lower, and buying now gets you grandfathered into the state’s net metering program should it decide to roll back to a less beneficial net billing system in the future. New Jersey has a renewable portfolio standard in place, which means that it’s committed to the future of solar energy in the state, which should give homeowners the confidence to make the switch to solar power.

On average, homeowners save $5,000–$20,000 with solar panels

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FAQs About New Jersey Solar Panel Costs

Are solar panels in New Jersey worth it?

Solar panels pack real value in New Jersey, with typical households banking around $62,000 over 25 years after investing $12,909 (post-tax credit). The numbers work particularly well here because Jersey’s electricity rates run about 20% above the national average — your panels offset pricier power than they would elsewhere.

Jersey sweetens the deal with property tax exemptions (your tax bill won’t rise despite your home’s increased value) and dollar-for-dollar credit for excess energy through net metering. Homes sporting owned solar arrays typically sell faster and fetch higher prices than similar houses without solar, making panels smart investments even if you might move within a decade.

How long does it take for solar panels to pay for themselves in New Jersey?

Jersey solar systems typically break even in about 9 years with cash purchases or 13 years with solar loans. Your personal timeline might shrink if your electric bills run higher than average or if utility rates climb faster than the usual 2–3% yearly hike.

Your panels keep cranking out free electricity long after hitting break-even, while also shielding you from future rate increases and boosting your property value. The state’s SuSI program can speed up your payback timeline by letting you sell renewable energy credits from your system — extra money in your pocket beyond the savings on your electric bill.

How much can solar panels save in New Jersey?

Cash-purchased solar arrays save Jersey homeowners roughly $62,000 over their 25-year lifespan. A typical 7 kW system costs $12,909 after incentives and cuts monthly electric bills by $70–$120, varying with your household’s electricity habits.

Solar loans trim lifetime savings to around $48,000 after factoring in interest payments, while leases and PPAs deliver much smaller benefits, about $12,000 and $10,000 respectively. For a custom savings forecast, have solar pros analyze your specific energy consumption, roof orientation, and local electric rates — reputable companies provide these assessments without charge.