About ClearWatt

ClearWatt is an independent publication that explains home solar costs, incentives, financing, and equipment in plain English for U.S. homeowners. We are not a solar installer, lender, or manufacturer, and we do not sell leads to installers on a pay-per-click basis — our revenue comes from display advertising, which lets us write about tradeoffs (including reasons solar might not make sense for a given household) without a sales incentive to say yes.

How we research figures

Cost, incentive, and policy figures in our guides are sourced from primary references wherever possible, including:

• The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) for electricity pricing data
• The DSIRE database (NC Clean Energy Technology Center) for state-by-state incentive tracking
• IRS guidance and the text of federal legislation (e.g. H.R. 1 / the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) for tax credit rules
• NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) for technical and cost-trend data
• Manufacturer specification sheets for equipment comparisons

Where exact figures vary by location, utility, or installer, we say so explicitly rather than presenting a single national number as universal — solar economics are genuinely local.

Update policy

Policy pages (tax credits, incentives, net metering) are reviewed whenever we become aware of a legislative or regulatory change, and at minimum every quarter. Every article displays its original publish date and, if applicable, its last-updated date.

Photo credits

Photos used on this site are real, licensed images from Wikimedia Commons or U.S. government sources — not stock photo placeholders or AI-generated images. Credits and licenses:

• House with rooftop solar panels — Gray Watson, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
• Aerial view of rooftop solar panels — Marc J. Harary, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• Solar panels on a residential rooftop — Esthee2010, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• NREL workers installing solar panels — Dennis Schroeder / NREL, U.S. Dept. of Energy, public domain (U.S. government work)
• Close-up of a polycrystalline solar panel — Guilhem Vellut, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• Home battery units installed in a garage — Rsparks3, dedicated to the public domain under CC0 1.0
• Apartment building with rooftop solar panels — Downtowngal, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
• A suburban street in Layton, Utah — Pink Sherbet Photography, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• Exterior of a single-wide manufactured home — Riverview Homes, Inc., licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
• Truck-based motorhome with a rooftop solar panel — Horacio Cambeiro, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A residential roof shaded by a large tree — Afreen Banday, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• Rear view of a ground-mounted bifacial solar array — Asurnipal, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• Close-up of a monocrystalline solar panel — ArticCynda, dedicated to the CC0, public domain dedication
• A microinverter unit with cable connectors — Michael Paetzold, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• Close-up of a residential electric utility meter — Wikimedia Commons, public domain
• The Wisconsin State Capitol building — Ryan Wick, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• A hand placing a coin into a piggy bank — Poppy Thomas-Hill, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• The restored 1910 Harris County Courthouse, Houston, Texas — i_am_jim, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
• A solar installation technician working on a rooftop — CoCreatr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
• Edge and termination detail of a solar panel — César Domínguez, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A worker cleaning rooftop solar panels, Palmyra, Pennsylvania — Lance Cheung / USDA, dedicated to the public domain (U.S. government work)
• Aerial drone view of a home with a full rooftop solar array — U.S. Department of Energy, dedicated to the public domain (U.S. government work)
• Financing paperwork and a pen on a desk — Blogtrepreneur, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• Installers examining solar panel mounting hardware on a sloped roof — Firstcultural, dedicated to the CC0, public domain dedication
• A gavel and house keys on a desk — Cathrine Sæther, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• A solar panel's rear specification and certification label — Veikk0.ma, licensed under CC BY 4.0
• An outdoor whole-house standby generator unit — Wxao Zexw, dedicated to the CC0, public domain dedication
• Lithium-ion coin cell batteries in a laboratory testing fixture — Chingo K, licensed under CC BY 4.0
• A Tesla Powerwall battery unit on a showroom wall — Raysonho, dedicated to the CC0, public domain dedication
• A home lithium battery and hybrid inverter installed in a utility closet — WisePsyco, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A calculator resting on financial worksheet paperwork — Steve Buissinne, dedicated to the CC0, public domain dedication
• A stack of cash representing investment cost — 401(K) 2012, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
• An open photovoltaic combiner box — Ja.hess10, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A technician testing electrical equipment with a clamp meter — U.S. Air Force, dedicated to the public domain (U.S. government work)
• Underside of a solar canopy showing panel wiring — ArnoldReinhold, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Oregon State Capitol building — M.O. Stevens, dedicated to the public domain
• A U.S. IRS Form 1040 federal tax return — Internal Revenue Service, dedicated to the public domain (U.S. government work)
• The U.S. Department of Energy's Germantown, Maryland office — Adam.iaizzi, licensed under CC BY 4.0
• Interior of the Texas Senate chamber — organic_veggie, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
• Two people shaking hands over a business agreement — rawpixel.com, dedicated to the CC0, public domain dedication
• A person checking reviews and ratings on a smartphone — Familydestinationsguide.com, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• A wall-mounted home battery cabinet in a utility closet — Asurnipal, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• Electricians wiring an open residential breaker panel — U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• A residential main electrical panel and open subpanel — Gvolk, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
• A rural farmhouse surrounded by open fields — Nyttend, dedicated to the public domain
• Attached rowhouses in a Brooklyn neighborhood — Zach, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
• A log cabin with a stone-pillared porch in the woods — Marty Aligata, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A restored Victorian house with a wraparound porch — Robert Lawton, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5
• A technician reading a residential electric meter — Ildar Sagdejev, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A federal EnergyGuide label on an electric water heater — Tony Webster, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• Close-up of a digital residential electric meter — Dwight Burdette, licensed under CC BY 3.0
• An electrician installing an external meter panel — Tomwsulcer, dedicated to the CC0, public domain dedication
• Two electricians installing separate meter panels on a multifamily house — Tomwsulcer, dedicated to the CC0, public domain dedication
• Back of a solar panel showing its junction box and cable leads — Veikk0.ma, licensed under CC BY 4.0
• Close-up of MC4 solar panel connectors — Asurnipal, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A grid-connected solar string inverter unit — Asurnipal, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A row of large lithium battery cells bolted together in a rack — Yo-Co-Man, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A modern home battery storage unit installed in an entryway — E. R., licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A "Sold" real estate sign in front of a suburban house — Famartin, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Minnesota State Capitol building — Myotus, licensed under CC BY 4.0
• The southeast facade of the New York State Capitol in Albany — Beyond My Ken, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• The Colorado State Capitol and its gold dome — NateBergin, licensed under CC BY 4.0
• The IRS headquarters building on Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. — Cliff, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• A blower door test set up in a home's front doorway during an energy assessment — Still life with noodles, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A residential roof covered with building-integrated solar shingles — Sun Vault Roofing, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• A silicon solar cell wafer on a manufacturing line — Oregon Department of Transportation, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• Close-up of a lithium battery management system circuit board — Retired electrician, dedicated to the CC0, public domain dedication
• A Generac portable inverter generator used for home backup power — TaurusEmerald, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
• Two stacked Tesla Powerwall home battery units installed in a residential utility space — Greg Johnstone / U.S. Department of Energy, public domain (U.S. government work)
• A historic Cape Cod style house at Cape Cod National Seashore — National Park Service, public domain (U.S. government work)
• A high-rise condominium tower in Reno, Nevada — Luke H. Gordon, licensed under CC BY 2.0
• Federal-style rowhouses in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia — Bmzuckerman, licensed under CC BY 4.0

None of these photos have been altered beyond resizing and compression for web performance.

What this site is not

Nothing on ClearWatt is personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. Your actual costs, eligible incentives, and payback period depend on your roof, utility rate plan, local permitting, and personal tax situation — always confirm specifics with a licensed installer, tax professional, or your utility before signing a contract.