What Is the Average Monthly Electric Bill With Solar Panels?

Installing solar panels can significantly reduce how much electricity a household purchases from the grid, but it does not necessarily eliminate the electric bill completely. Your monthly electric bill after installing solar depends on factors such as your electricity usage, solar system size, local electricity rates, sunlight availability, and your utility's solar compensation policy.

For context, in June 2026, the estimated average U.S. residential electricity bill was about $170.65, based on EIA data. However, electricity costs vary substantially by state.

So, what affects the average electric bill with solar panels? Let's look at state-level electricity costs, potential solar savings, and how battery storage can further reduce reliance on grid electricity.

How State Electricity Costs Affect Your Bill With Solar Panels

Electricity costs vary considerably across the United States, so the potential savings from solar also differ by location. Before estimating your electric bill with solar panels, it helps to understand the typical residential electricity costs in each state.

Based on June 2026 residential electricity data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), estimated monthly residential electricity bills varied widely by state. The estimated monthly bill ranged from about $102 in Montana to $254 in Hawaii, while the U.S. average was approximately $171 per month.

These figures represent residential electricity costs before accounting for an individual home's solar generation. They provide a baseline for understanding how much grid electricity spending solar panels may offset and why the average electric bill with solar panels can vary by location.

The actual electric bill with solar panels depends on how much electricity the system produces, how much of that solar energy the household uses, local electricity rates, and the utility's rules for excess electricity sent back to the grid.

State	Est. Monthly Electric Bill	Avg. Monthly Usage
Hawaii	$254.27	482 kWh
Arizona	$219.35	1,445 kWh
Texas	$208.75	1,309 kWh
California	$164.72	474 kWh
New York	$169.26	574 kWh
Florida	$195.15	1,293 kWh
Montana	$102.44	677 kWh
U.S. Average	$170.65	930 kWh

How Much Do Solar Panels Save on Electricity Bills?

How much solar panels reduce your electricity bill depends on your home's electricity use, solar production, local rates, and utility compensation rules. Solar panels reduce electricity costs by generating power that your home would otherwise need to purchase from the utility. How much you save depends mainly on how much solar electricity your household uses and your local electricity rate. As a result, the average electric bill with solar panels can vary significantly from one household to another.

A simple way to estimate your savings is:

Solar savings = Solar electricity used × Local electricity rate

For example, if your home uses 800 kWh of solar electricity per month and your electricity rate is $0.16/kWh, that solar energy could offset about $128 in electricity costs per month.

Actual savings may be higher or lower depending on your household electricity use, solar production, local rates, and how your utility compensates you for excess electricity sent to the grid.

Electric Bill Before and After Solar Panels

A simple calculation can help estimate potential savings, but real household bills can look quite different depending on location, system size, and utility rates. The U.S. Department of Energy provides real-world examples that show how monthly electricity costs may change after going solar.

For example, one California homeowner was estimated to save around $200 per month on electricity bills after installing rooftop solar. In another DOE example, an Ohio household avoided about $150 per month in electricity costs, while paying $100 per month for a solar lease.

These examples show that solar can reduce the amount a household pays for grid electricity, but the final bill may still include fixed utility charges, delivery fees, taxes, financing costs, or other charges that solar generation does not eliminate.

Factors That Affect Your Electricity Bill With Solar Panels

Several factors determine how much your electric bill decreases after installing solar panels:

• Solar system size: A larger system can generate more electricity and offset more grid consumption.
• Household electricity usage: Homes that consume more electricity may require larger solar systems to achieve the same percentage of energy offset.
• Sunlight and location: Solar production depends on available sunlight, weather, shading, and panel orientation.
• Electricity rates: Higher electricity prices generally mean each kWh of solar generation can offset more spending.
• Net metering and utility policies: The value of excess solar electricity sent to the grid varies by utility and location.
• Panel performance: Panel efficiency, system losses, maintenance, and shading can affect total energy production.
• Time of energy use: Generating solar electricity during the day does not necessarily match when a household consumes the most electricity.

These factors explain why the average electric bill with solar panels can vary significantly, even between two homes with similarly sized solar systems.

How to Lower Your Electric Bill With Solar Panels and Battery Storage?

Solar panels generate electricity primarily during daylight hours, while household electricity demand can continue into the evening and overnight. A battery can help bridge this gap by storing excess solar energy for later use.

Instead of sending unused daytime solar electricity to the grid, after you own a battery storage, solar panels power your home appliances during the day, while excess solar energy is stored in the battery for use at night.

Battery storage can help lower electricity costs in several ways:

• Increase solar self-consumption: Store excess daytime solar energy and use it later instead of buying as much electricity from the grid.
• Reduce peak-hour grid use: If your utility uses time-of-use pricing, stored energy can be used during higher-rate periods.
• Reduce grid purchases when solar output is low: Battery power can help cover household demand in the evening, overnight, or during cloudy periods.
• Provide backup power: Compatible battery systems can also keep essential appliances running during an outage.

The financial benefit depends on your utility's rate structure, solar compensation rules, battery efficiency, and how much electricity your household consumes.

For households that regularly produce more solar power during the day than they can use immediately, combining solar panels with battery storage can increase solar self-consumption and reduce reliance on grid electricity. Systems such as the BLUETTI Apex 300 home battery backup support this type of setup with solar charging, expandable battery capacity, and home backup capability. With up to 58kWh of expandable capacity and 11.5kW of output, it can support households with larger energy or backup needs while making more excess daytime solar energy available for later use. Over time, this may also help lower the average electric bill with solar panels, depending on household usage and local utility rates.

Conclusion

Solar panels can significantly reduce electricity bills, but there is no single average electric bill with solar panels that applies to every household. Your actual savings depend on solar production, household electricity use, local rates, and utility policies.

A well-sized solar system can reduce grid electricity purchases, while battery storage may help households use more of their own solar energy when generation and consumption do not occur at the same time.