February 2021 is when a lot of Texas homeowners started taking their electricity situation seriously.
My power was out for four days during the storm. We had candles, two sleeping bags, and a gas stove that still worked. Claire spent most of the second day researching generators on her phone. I sat there thinking: I’m paying $300 a month for grid power and it vanished in one cold front. Something has to change.
I’d been researching solar before the storm, but that week accelerated everything. I installed my 9.6kW system in November 2022. I’ve now been tracking the numbers for over two years. Here’s what I actually know about whether solar makes sense in Texas — not as a general concept, but with real numbers from a real Austin address.
The Texas Solar Case, Honestly
Texas is a genuinely good solar market — but for different reasons than California or Massachusetts, and with different limitations.
The good: Texas ranks among the top three states nationally for solar irradiance. Austin averages about 2,850 peak sun hours per year, which is significantly higher than most of the Midwest and Northeast. Your panels produce more power per installed watt here than in most of the country. The EIA’s state electricity data also shows Texas residential electricity rates climbing steadily — from $0.096/kWh in 2019 to over $0.13/kWh in many service territories by 2024. That rate increase improves the payback math every year.
The complicated: Texas has no state income tax — which means no state solar tax credit. No income tax, no credit. You get the federal 30% IRA credit, but unlike homeowners in New York or Massachusetts, you don’t layer a state credit on top.
The often-missed: Texas does have a property tax exemption for solar systems. The added value your solar installation brings to your home’s appraised value is exempt from property taxes. On a $28,400 system in a county with a 2.1% property tax rate, that’s roughly $596/year you’re not paying — every year the system is on your roof. Over 25 years, that’s $14,900 in avoided property tax. Nobody talks about this enough.
Net Metering in Texas: The Part That Varies by Utility
This is where Texas gets complicated, and where location within the state matters enormously.
Unlike California or New Jersey, Texas has no statewide net metering mandate. Each utility sets its own policy. The results vary widely:
Austin Energy (my utility): Has a strong Value of Solar Tariff — a set rate per kWh for exported power, currently around $0.097/kWh. It’s not quite retail rate, but it’s a stable, calculable number. Austin Energy also offers an installation rebate — $2,500 for systems up to 20kW for qualifying customers. That rebate alone covered 12.5% of my net post-credit cost. Austin Energy’s solar program details are worth reading before you sign any contract if you’re in their territory.
CenterPoint Energy / Oncor territories (Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth areas): These utilities serve most of the state’s deregulated ERCOT market. Net metering policies here are weaker — you’re often credited at the wholesale rate rather than retail, which is currently $0.03–$0.06/kWh rather than $0.12–$0.13. That difference matters for system sizing. Oversizing to bank credits is a poor strategy in these territories because the credit rate is too low.
Oncor, TNMP, and others: Similar to CenterPoint — no retail-rate net metering obligation. Marcus, who works in Houston, told me this is the most common misunderstanding he sees in the market. “People compare their neighbor’s Austin setup to Houston and wonder why the numbers look different. The utility policy is completely different.”
The practical result: in Austin Energy territory, solar math works out very favorably. In most of the rest of Texas, the payback period is somewhat longer because exported excess power earns less. System sizing matters more — you want to match your daytime usage tightly rather than overproduce.
My Actual Texas Numbers
Here’s what my 9.6kW SunPower Maxeon system in Austin has done since November 2022:
Before solar:
– Average monthly bill (12-month): $294
– Peak summer month (July 2021): $338
– Annual electricity cost: ~$3,530
After solar (2023 full-year data):
– Average monthly bill: $23
– Summer peak (July 2023): $41
– Annual electricity cost: ~$276
– Annual savings: ~$3,254
System cost breakdown:
– Gross cost: $28,400
– Federal IRA tax credit (30%): –$8,520
– Austin Energy rebate: –$2,500
– Net out-of-pocket: $17,380
Payback at $3,254/year savings: 5.3 years.
That’s faster than I projected before install. The Austin Energy rebate made a bigger difference than I expected, and my actual savings tracked slightly above estimate because Austin Energy raised rates in mid-2023. As I walked through in my post on what solar actually costs nationally, the utility rate trajectory matters almost as much as the install cost.
The Battery Question in Texas
After four days without power in February 2021, I added a Tesla Powerwall 2 in March 2023. This is worth separating from the solar ROI discussion because the Powerwall math is different.
The Powerwall 2 holds 13.5 kWh usable capacity. At my household’s average draw during an outage (fridge, fans, phone charging, a few lights), it covers about 18–22 hours of usage before it needs to recharge from the panels. In a February-style event — cloudy days, high heating load — the recharge rate drops significantly.
The Powerwall cost me $11,500 installed. It qualifies for the same 30% federal tax credit, so effective cost was $8,050. The ROI on a battery is harder to calculate than on panels because it’s primarily an insurance product, not a savings product. I don’t regret it. But I went in with clear eyes — it’s not on the same financial footing as the panels.
Dave went solar six months after I did through Sunrun and skipped the battery. He’s comfortable with that decision. His payback timeline is shorter without the battery cost, but he’s also dependent on the grid for backup. For most Texas homeowners who don’t live in storm-prone areas or don’t work from home, that tradeoff is reasonable.
What Texas Homeowners Should Check Before Getting Quotes
Identify your utility first. Your utility determines your net metering rate, and that’s one of the most important numbers in your payback calculation. Check DSIRE’s Texas incentives page for a current list of utility-level programs.
Apply the property tax exemption. It’s not automatic in all counties — some require a filed exemption form with your county appraisal district. Ask your installer if they provide documentation to support the exemption application. Many do.
Factor the Austin Energy rebate if applicable. It’s first-come, first-served and has annual funding limits. In some years it runs out by mid-summer. Don’t let a slow installer cost you the rebate timing.
Size your system to your usage, not your roof capacity. This matters more in most Texas utility territories than it does in high-net-metering states, because the excess export credit is low. In most of Texas, a system that matches 95% of your usage is better than one that produces 130% and exports the surplus at wholesale rate.
The Short Answer
Yes, solar is worth it in Texas — but the math looks different depending on where in Texas you are.
If you’re in Austin Energy territory: the combination of rebate, favorable Value of Solar Tariff, high sun, and rising rates makes this one of the cleaner solar decisions in the country. My numbers confirm it.
If you’re in a deregulated Oncor or CenterPoint territory: solar still makes sense, but the weaker net metering means the system needs to be sized more carefully, and the payback period is typically 8–11 years before incentives rather than 5–7. Still within the 25-year warranty life of the panels. Still a reasonable long-term investment. Just not as sharp a financial case as Austin.
The full install story from my own first quote to first bill has the detail on how I navigated Austin Energy specifically — if you’re in that territory, it’s worth reading before you call anyone.
— Allen
