In Connecticut the tariff you pick matters as much as the sun. Every new home system signs up for one of two plans that last 20 years, Buy-All or Netting, before it is connected, and the choice is final. Simple payback before incentives is about 9.4 years statewide. A typical system pays for itself in about 6.6 years on Buy-All at Eversource and 8.1 to 9.8 years on Netting, depending on your utility.
Simple payback before incentives, statewideAbout 9.4 years
By utility and planAbout 6.6 to 9.8 years
Typical owned 9.52 kW Connecticut system at $26,656 cash (EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026). The statewide figure is on Netting, weighted by how many homes each utility serves. Eversource, the largest utility: 9.8 years on Netting and 6.6 on the 32.89 cents per kWh Buy-All rate. United Illuminating: 8.1 years on Netting. No upkeep and no price rises are counted. See the math.
- Tariff: Buy-All pays a fixed 32.89 cents per kWh for every kWh; Netting credits the full price minus 4.02 cents per kWh.
- Utility: RRES covers Eversource and United Illuminating homes only. Town-owned utilities set their own terms.
- Time in home: about 6.6 to 9.8 years to pay back, and the tariff runs 20 years.
2026 rules: new home systems get no 30% federal homeowner credit (IRS). Traditional net metering closed to new systems after December 31, 2021. Systems that enroll in 2026 earn 32.89 cents per kWh on Buy-All, or full-price credits minus 4.02 cents per kWh on Netting (PURA).
How we checked this guide
Tariff rates come from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) decision for 2026, program rules from PURA and state law, battery payments from the Energy Storage Solutions program, and the electricity price from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The example system is the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Connecticut home. Where we had to assume a number, the page says so.
The writer and checker shown above are EcoGen staff. EcoGen is paid when homeowners request quotes, which is explained beside the quote form. Read our editorial standards.
Good signs and warning signs for a Connecticut roof
Connecticut has no state rebate or tax credit for home solar. It pays for the power your panels make through the Residential Renewable Energy Solutions program (RRES), for systems up to 25 kW. You pick Buy-All or Netting on the application, and you cannot switch later. Read each row across.
Tariff choice
Worth a closer look
The quote prices Buy-All and Netting side by side.
Pause and check
The quote shows one plan only, or skips the Netting charge.
Check next: both yearly values in writing, and which plan the installer will file.
Who your utility is
Worth a closer look
You are an Eversource or United Illuminating customer in a home with 1 to 4 units.
Pause and check
A town-owned utility serves you, so RRES rates do not apply.
Check next: the utility name on your bill and its own solar terms.
Price
Worth a closer look
A cash price near the Index’s $26,656 for 9.52 kW ($2.80 per watt), or a loan with no dealer fee.
Pause and check
A financed price far above the cash price, or a promise of a 30% federal credit.
Check next: the cash price beside the financed total, with every fee.
Roof and time in home
Worth a closer look
A sound, unshaded roof and a plan to stay at least 6.6 to 9.8 years.
Pause and check
A roof that needs work soon, heavy shade, or a likely move.
Check next: the roof’s age, a shade report and how long you expect to stay.
Buy-All or Netting: one roof, two 20-year contracts
A kWh (kilowatt-hour) is the unit on your power bill. Simple payback is the years your savings take to cover what you paid: net cost divided by yearly savings. Start with Buy-All. Your utility buys every kWh the panels make at a rate fixed for 20 years, and you keep buying the power your home uses at the normal price.
- Cash price
- $26,656
- Confirmed incentives
- $0
- Year-one production
- 12,319 kWh
- Used at home / exported
- 40% / 60%
- Buy-All rate per kWh
- $0.3289/kWh
- Export credit
- $0.3289/kWh
- Upkeep and price rises
- Not counted
- Used-at-home value
12,319 × 40% × $0.3289$1,621/yr - Export value
12,319 × 60% × $0.3289$2,431/yr - Yearly savings
$1,621 + $2,431$4,052/yr - Simple payback before incentives
$26,656 ÷ $4,052about 6.6 years
Inputs: the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Connecticut system (9.52 kW, $26,656 cash, September 2026; 1,294 kWh per kW a year) and the 32.89 cents per kWh Buy-All rate for 2026 enrollees. Buy-All sells all 12,319 kWh to the utility, so the 40% and 60% split is only there for the calculator and does not change the result. The figure counts no upkeep and no price rises. United Illuminating’s Buy-All has no figure in our October 19 payback file yet, because its credit is not in our data.
Now put the same system on Netting. Exported power earns a credit at the full price you pay, and credits roll over month to month. Credit left at year end keeps rolling forward and is paid out only when you close your account. But 2026 enrollees also pay 4.02 cents per kWh on every kWh the panels make. At Eversource’s 26.12¢ price for home use, each solar kWh is worth about 22.10¢ after that charge; at United Illuminating’s 30.77¢, about 26.75¢. For the typical system that is about $2,722 in year one on Eversource and about $3,295 on United Illuminating, against about $4,052 on Buy-All.
| Scenario | Price per kWh | Value before the Netting charge | Yearly savings | Simple payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy-All, Eversource | $0.3289 | $4,052 | $4,052 | about 6.6 years |
| Netting, Eversource | $0.2612 | $3,217 | $2,722 | about 9.8 years |
| Netting, United Illuminating | $0.3077 | $3,791 | $3,295 | about 8.1 years |
The price is the same. Only what each kWh earns changes, so read the tariff line on a quote as closely as the price.
Try your own Connecticut numbers
The tool starts with the Buy-All case above. Enter your own quote and press Calculate. For Netting, enter your price per kWh minus the Netting charge in both rate boxes. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Example result
about 6.6 years
simple cash payback
- Used-at-home value
- $1,621/yr
- Export value
- $2,431/yr
- Owner costs
- −$0/yr
- Yearly savings
- $4,052/yr
- Net cost
- $26,656
Starts with the Buy-All case. For Netting, put your price per kWh minus the Netting charge in both rate boxes. Flat first-year values; prices, panel wear and repairs will change the result.
Why the faster plan may not be the bigger one
Buy-All is flat: 32.89 cents per kWh from year one to year 20. Netting moves with electricity prices while its 4.02 cents per kWh charge stays put. If prices rise, Netting gains on Buy-All over the 20-year term. If prices level off or fall, Buy-All keeps its lead. At United Illuminating’s higher price, Netting starts closer to Buy-All in year one.
Our Netting prices are each utility’s 12-month average home price from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, with its fixed monthly charge taken out: Eversource 26.12¢ (27.53¢ less the $9.62 customer charge) and United Illuminating 30.77¢ (33.26¢ less the $13.02 monthly charge). The 4.02 cents comes off once. Your own bill may differ, so ask for Netting at your real rate. Daytime use hardly matters on either plan: Buy-All sells every kWh, and a Netting export earns what you would have paid for it.
Households at or below 60% of the state median income earn 5.5 cents more per kWh on Buy-All (3.5 cents per kWh on Netting). Homes in a distressed municipality add 2.75 cents per kWh (1.75 cents per kWh on Netting).
The tariff term ends after 20 years, and nothing has been set for what follows. A 2026 state law keeps both plans open to new systems until December 31, 2028 at the latest, and PURA must issue a final order on a successor program by December 1, 2027. Rates are set by enrollment year.
Get both tariffs priced for your roof
Ask each Connecticut installer for a Buy-All number and a Netting number on the same system. You only get to choose once.
Solar providers that serve your area may contact you, and they pay EcoGen for the introduction. How we make money.
A battery pays through its own program, not the tariff
Storing solar power for the evening does not raise what it earns under RRES. The money comes from Energy Storage Solutions. Since April 1, 2026, new enrollees get $30 per kWh of battery size off the price at install ($405 on a 13.5 kWh battery). After that, the program pays $300 per kW of average power delivered each year for 10 years for letting the utility use it on busy days.
Older guides describe the old upfront incentive, $250 to $600 per kWh upfront, with a cap of $16,000. It closed to new enrollees on April 1, 2026, and its cap does not apply to the new payments. Get a written battery quote and its expected payments before you add one.
Two tax breaks you have to ask for
Solar equipment and installation are free of the 6.35% sales tax if you give the seller Form CERT-140. On a $26,656 system that tax would be about $1,693, so check the quote leaves it out. Your property tax does not rise for the panels if you file Form M-44 with your town assessor by November 1. You file once; miss the date and you lose that year’s exemption.
Tax wording reviewed and approved by Layton Smith Sr., EA (October 16, 2026).
When to wait, and what else is open to you
A likely move, a roof due for replacement or heavy shade can push the payback past your time in the home. Renters and homes with shaded roofs can join Shared Clean Energy Facilities, the state community solar program, which pays a bill credit of 2.5 cents per kWh at no cost to households at or below 100% of the state median income. Customers of a town-owned utility follow that utility’s rules, not RRES.
Six lines to find on a Connecticut solar quote
Get two or three quotes for the same system, and ask for anything missing before you sign. Be wary of anyone still offering a 30% federal credit on a 2026 purchase.
- Both tariffs priced. Year-one value on Buy-All at 32.89 cents per kWh and on Netting with the 4.02 cents per kWh charge taken off.
- The plan on the application. Which tariff the installer will file, in writing, before interconnection.
- Sizing basis. Your highest 12 months of use and any planned EV or heat pump.
- Cash and financed prices. Both totals side by side, with any dealer fee shown.
- Tax forms. Form CERT-140 for the sales tax and Form M-44 for the property tax, and who files each.
- License. The company’s Connecticut license, checked on the state eLicense site.
Compare Connecticut solar quotes
Ask each installer to price the same system on Buy-All and on Netting. Enter your ZIP code to request quotes from solar providers that serve your area.
How EcoGen is paid
EcoGen America does not sell or install solar. When you request quotes, we pass your request to solar providers serving your area, and they pay us for the introduction. Providers can include installers, solar marketplaces and lead exchanges, and more than one may contact you. You never pay us. This is not an application to the Residential Renewable Energy Solutions program.
More Connecticut solar guides
- Connecticut solar guide: utilities, incentives and installers in one place
- Connecticut solar companies: compare local installers before you request quotes
- Connecticut solar incentives: RRES tariffs, battery payments and tax forms
- What solar costs in Connecticut
- Free solar panels in Connecticut: what $0 down really means
- Are solar panels worth it? The national guide and payback calculator
All 51 state guides
Connecticut solar questions
Is solar worth it in Connecticut without the federal tax credit?
It can be. The homeowner credit does not apply to systems installed after December 31, 2025, and Connecticut has no state income tax credit for home solar. The value comes from the RRES tariff instead. Simple payback before incentives is about 9.4 years statewide: about 6.6 years on Buy-All at Eversource and 8.1 to 9.8 years on Netting, depending on your utility, with no credit counted.
Should I choose Buy-All or Netting?
Buy-All pays a fixed 32.89 cents per kWh for every kWh for 20 years, so it returns your money sooner in our example. Netting credits the price you pay for power, minus 4.02 cents per kWh, so it gains if prices rise and loses if they fall. Ask for both numbers, because you cannot switch later.
What is the Netting charge, and can I avoid it?
It is 4.02 cents per kWh on every kWh a Netting system makes, not only on exports, for systems that enroll in 2026. Using more power at home or adding a battery does not lower it. On the typical system it is about $495 in year one. Buy-All has no such charge.
What happens when the 20-year tariff ends?
No one knows yet. The rate you lock in lasts 20 years, and nothing has been set for the years after. State law keeps the two tariffs open to new systems until December 31, 2028 at the latest, and PURA must decide on a successor program by December 1, 2027. Treat any later years in a quote as a guess.
Do town-owned utility customers get RRES?
No. RRES is for Eversource and United Illuminating customers in homes with 1 to 4 units. Customers of a town-owned utility follow its own rules. Groton Utilities, for example, runs a SolarPlus pilot that pays $1,000 per kW for systems under 12 kW, up to $10,000 or 50% of the installed cost, whichever is less.
How long does a system take to pay off with Eversource or United Illuminating?
On Buy-All a typical 9.52 kW system at $26,656 pays back in about 6.6 years at Eversource. United Illuminating’s Buy-All is not in our payback figures yet, though the 2026 Buy-All rate is the same at both utilities. Netting depends on what your utility charges. At Eversource’s 26.12¢ it takes about 9.8 years, and at United Illuminating’s 30.77¢ about 8.1 years, with the 4.02 cents taken off once. A higher price shortens that, a lower one stretches it.
Sources, method and corrections
The example uses the EcoGen Solar Cost Index typical Connecticut system (September 2026) and the 2026 RRES rates set by PURA. The paybacks are our October 19, 2026 per-utility figures: simple payback before incentives, with no upkeep and no price rises counted. The Netting cases use each utility’s 12-month average home price from EIA with its fixed monthly charge taken out (Eversource 26.12¢, United Illuminating 30.77¢), minus the 4.02 cents charge, taken off once. Simple payback uses flat first-year values. The calculator runs in your browser and sends nothing.
Spotted an error? Tell us through our corrections and feedback process.
- PURA: Docket 25-08-02 decision, 2026 RRES tariff rates (2026 tariff rates, adders and term; checked September 30, 2026)
- PURA: Residential Renewable Energy Solutions program (eligibility, size cap and sizing rule)
- Connecticut Public Act 26-127 (RRES end date and successor order)
- Energy Storage Solutions: home battery incentives (2026 battery payments)
- Connecticut DRS: sales and use tax (6.35% rate)
- Connecticut DRS: Special Notice on the solar sales tax exemption (Form CERT-140)
- Connecticut Public Act 26-134 (property tax exemption and the November 1 filing deadline)
- PURA: Shared Clean Energy Facility decision (community solar bill credit)
- Groton Utilities: SolarPlus details (rebate per kW and the cap)
- IRS: Residential Clean Energy Credit (no credit for property installed after December 31, 2025)
- U.S. EIA: average residential electricity price by state (12-month average, August 2025 to July 2026, as used in the Cost Index)
- U.S. EIA Form 861M: sales to ultimate customers by utility (12-month average home price for Eversource and United Illuminating, as used in our October 19, 2026 payback figures)
- EcoGen Solar Cost Index, September 2026: what solar costs in Connecticut (typical system size, price, output per kW and electricity price)
