Free tools for testing a solar offer before you sign

Most solar proposals arrive with a monthly payment, a savings figure and a deadline. These tools help you check the first two before the third rushes you. Each Kentucky solar calculator here uses the same methods as our paid reviews, simplified for the kitchen table: a utility bill, the proposal and ten minutes.

Three tools, three questions

• Solar Payback Estimator: if you buy the system, in which year do the bill savings catch up with what you paid?
• Lease, PPA, Loan or Cash Comparison: which way of paying for the same panels leaves you better off over 25 years, in nominal dollars and in today’s dollars?
• Proposal Red-Flag Checklist: which assumptions in your proposal deserve a hard question, and what exactly should you ask?

What a solar calculator can and can’t tell you

A calculator is only as honest as its inputs. The most common error we see in Kentucky proposals is valuing every kilowatt-hour at the retail rate, even though most new customers now get a lower credit for energy they send to the grid. Our tools make you choose that export credit on purpose. Not sure what yours is? Start with Kentucky net metering explained.

The tools give estimates, not advice. They don’t know your roof, your shading, your taxes or your contract’s fine print. Whether a system is safe or built to code is work for licensed professionals.

Your numbers stay with you

Every calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us or to anyone else, and there is no email gate. Close the page and the numbers are gone.

When to bring in a human review

Use the tools to sort out the simple cases. Bring in an independent review when:

• the tool’s answer and the proposal’s answer differ by more than a few thousand dollars
• you’re comparing two or more offers with different structures
• the contract has an escalator, a dealer fee, a buyout schedule or a production guarantee you don’t fully understand
• your roof is more than about ten years old, or you may sell the house during the term

To see the method applied end to end, read our illustrative scenarios: composites, not clients, with every assumption shown.