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Calculator · Updated August 2026
Net metering credit calculator
The export structure decides more about your economics than the panels do.
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The calculator
What is an exported kilowatt-hour worth to you?
Export structures change and vary by utility. Confirm yours with your utility before relying on any figure here.
This is an estimate, not a savings guarantee.
It uses published utility rates, NREL regional sun data and a standard system derate. It does not know your roof orientation, your shading, your usage pattern or what your utility will charge next year. No solar company can honestly guarantee savings, and any that does is describing a model rather than making a promise.
Why this is the number that decides everything
Two identical systems on identical roofs can differ by years of payback purely because of what their utility pays for exported power. It is the single most consequential variable in residential solar and it is the one least often explained at the kitchen table.
The structures, and who has them
1:1 retail net metering
An exported kilowatt-hour is credited at the same rate you buy one. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and Maine work this way. Here, sizing to your annual usage is defensible because export and self-consumption are worth the same.
Percentage of retail
New Hampshire credits at roughly 85% of retail, written into statute through 2041 — the most durable arrangement in New England. New York's VDER value stack generally lands between 60% and 90% depending on utility and hours.
Generation rate only
Ohio requires investor-owned utilities to offer net metering but credits at the generation rate, not the full retail rate. AEP Ohio multiplies monthly net export by the generation energy component and does not bank the kilowatt-hours month to month.
Supply only
Illinois moved new customers to supply-only net metering on January 1, 2025. Credits apply against supply and transmission but not delivery. Accepting the ComEd or Ameren distributed generation rebate permanently forfeits any grandfathered full-retail status.
Avoided cost
The lowest tier. California's Net Billing Tariff credits exports at hourly avoided cost, widely reported at 3–8¢ against a 30–35¢ retail rate. Duke's Residential Solar Choice in North Carolina is reported near 3.4¢.
What to do about a wide gap
Where export credit is far below retail, the answer is not a bigger array. It is shifting consumption into production hours, or storing production for evening use. That is why storage became central in California and why it is a resilience purchase rather than a financial one in Pennsylvania.
The "lost to the export gap" figure above is the amount storage or load-shifting could theoretically recover. If it is small, a battery is a backup-power decision. If it is large, it is a financial one.
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Who you would be working with
SolarAmerica
We design your system and manage the project; installation is performed by vetted licensed partners in your area. SolarAmerica is not itself the installing contractor.
Questions
The things people actually ask
What is my exported solar worth?
It depends entirely on your state and utility. It ranges from the full retail rate in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to avoided cost in California, which is roughly a fifth of retail. Pick your structure above.
What is the difference between net metering and net billing?
Net metering credits exports at or near the retail rate. Net billing credits them at a separate, lower rate — usually the utility's avoided cost. California's NEM 3.0 is net billing.
Does a battery help with a low export rate?
Yes, that is exactly when it helps. Storing production for evening use captures the difference between the retail rate and the export credit. Where the two are equal, there is no gap to capture and storage is about resilience instead.
How much of my production do I use directly?
Without a battery, typically 30–50% for a household away during the day. Higher if someone is home, if you have an EV charging in daylight, or if you run a heat pump.
Get the number for your actual roof
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Ranked #1 by Solar Power World · 20,000+ installations · Licensed installers