Solar, explained honestly.
Then priced honestly.
Most solar quotes hide the math behind a salesman. This page does it the other way around — the math first, in plain English, with the price right next to it. You decide if it works for you.
Two letters do all the heavy lifting in solar.
Almost every confusing solar quote can be cracked open with two acronyms: kWh and kW. They look the same. They aren't. If a salesperson can't explain the difference cleanly, walk away.
kWh — kilowatt-hours. This is what you buy.
kWh is energy — power used over time. It's the unit Rocky Mountain Power charges you for, every month, on every bill. The average Utah home I work with uses about 12,000 kWh per year, which is the $120–$140/month figure on most RMP statements. That number is what we're trying to erase.
kW — kilowatts. This is what your solar makes.
kW is power — what your solar pushes out at any single moment. An "8 kW system" can produce 8 kW when the sun is overhead. Run it for one hour at full output and you've made 8 kWh of energy. Run it across a full year of Utah sun (factoring in cloud cover, panel angle, and seasons), and an 8 kW system makes about 12,000 kWh per year.
Put the two together: an 8 kW solar system produces about as much energy as a typical Utah home uses in a year. That's a "100% offset."
Bigger house, electric heat, EV in the driveway? You'll need more — maybe 10 or 12 kW. Smaller home, careful with usage? 6 kW might do it. The first thing I do on a site visit is read your last 12 months of RMP bills and size the system to your kWh, not a template.
$1.60 a watt, installed.
Once you know the size you need, the only other number that matters is the price per watt. The Utah industry average is $3.00+. Here's what that gap looks like in dollars:
| System size | Annual production | BYOP price | Industry avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 kW (smaller home) | ~9,000 kWh/yr | $9,600 | $18,000+ |
| 8 kW (typical home) | ~12,000 kWh/yr | $12,800 | $24,000+ |
| 10 kW (larger / with EV) | ~15,000 kWh/yr | $16,000 | $30,000+ |
| 12 kW (large / heavy use) | ~18,000 kWh/yr | $19,200 | $36,000+ |
Prices are turnkey: panels, microinverters, racking, conduit, labor, city permit, and Rocky Mountain Power interconnection. No surprise add-ons.
No middlemen. No leases.
No financing tricks.
Tier 1 panels cost the same regardless of who installs them. The reason another company quotes $24,000 for the same 8 kW system I install for $12,800 isn't the equipment. It's the chain of people standing between you and the roof.
- — No door-knocker taking 10–15% off the top.
- — No sales rep commission. I'm the one quoting and the one installing.
- — No dealer-network markup. I'm not a Sunrun reseller — I'm a Master Electrician with a contractor license.
- — No financing kickback baked into your price. Most "0% financing" solar deals quietly add 15–25% to the sticker before you sign.
- — No lease. You own the panels. Period.
On top of that, I source as close to the manufacturer as possible and buy equipment in bulk. When you pay BYOP, you're paying for hardware, my labor, and the permit. Nothing else has to be funded.
100% offset doesn't mean
a $0 electric bill.
Most solar pitches end at "we'll cover 100% of your usage." That's true on paper. But there's a wrinkle in how Rocky Mountain Power settles the trade between what you produce and what you consume.
Solar produces during the day, when the sun is up. You use most of your power at night — lights, dishwasher, EV charging, AC running while you sleep. So during the day, your panels make more than your house can use, and the surplus is exported to the grid. After dark, you buy power back. RMP runs that trade at unequal rates:
You're selling wholesale and buying retail. And every year, RMP nudges that export credit a little lower. The "send it to the grid for free storage" math that worked in 2018 doesn't work the same way in 2026.
What this means for you: a solar-only system still cuts your bill substantially — usually 50–70% off the dollar amount, even on a system sized for 100% offset. To push closer to zero, and to stay protected as RMP keeps shifting rates, you eventually want to use your own production instead of selling it. That's a battery.
Most of my customers do solar first and add a battery later. Some bundle from day one because the labor is cheaper combined. Either path is fine — but you should know the trade going in.
Tier 1 panels. Microinverters
that don't quit.
Canadian Solar.
Longi. Qcells.
Tier 1 panels with 25-year product warranties. I don't have a dealer contract with any panel brand, which means I pick what fits your roof and budget — not what pays me the highest margin.
APS DS3 microinverters
(or Enphase IQ8).
Microinverters at each panel, not a single string inverter that takes the whole array down when it fails. APS DS3 is my default — lower cost, same reliability, same 25-year warranty. Enphase on request.
Racking, conduit,
permits, interconnection.
IronRidge or equivalent racking. Clean conduit runs. City permit pulled in your name. RMP interconnection paperwork handled. Production monitoring app set up before I leave.
Site visit to live system.
Four to eight weeks.
- 1. Free site visit. I walk your roof, check your panel, read your last 12 months of RMP bills, and discuss shading. You get an honest number before I leave.
- 2. Design & quote. Panel layout, string design, inverter sizing, production estimate, final price. Nothing moves without your sign-off.
- 3. Permit & interconnection. City permit pulled. RMP interconnection application submitted. 1–3 weeks depending on city.
- 4. Install. Usually one to two days on site. Racking, panels, conduit, inverters, main panel tie-in.
- 5. Inspection. City electrical inspector signs off. I schedule it; you don't need to be home.
- 6. RMP PTO & monitoring. Rocky Mountain Power issues Permission to Operate. I set up your production monitoring app before I leave. System is live.
Solar FAQ.
What's the difference between kW and kWh?
kW is power — how fast your solar can produce energy at any single moment. kWh is energy — what your utility bills you for. An 8 kW system running for one hour at full output makes 8 kWh. Across a full Utah year, an 8 kW system produces about 12,000 kWh, which is what a typical Utah home consumes annually.
How much does solar cost in Utah at BYOP?
$1.60 per watt installed. An 8 kW system — typical for a Wasatch Front home — lands around $12,800 turnkey. That's roughly half what the big solar companies quote for the same job. No dealer markup, no door-knocker commissions, no lease.
If a 100% offset system covers all my usage, why isn't my bill $0?
Because Rocky Mountain Power pays you about $0.05/kWh for what you export, but charges you about $0.12/kWh when you buy power back at night. Solar produces during the day, you consume mostly at night. A 100% offset system in kWh terms still leaves a partial bill in dollars — usually 30–50% of what you used to pay. To push closer to $0, you need to use your own production instead of selling it. That's where a battery comes in.
Does solar still make financial sense after the federal tax credit expired?
Yes, but the math is tighter than it was — which is exactly why pricing matters. At $1.60/W, an 8 kW system pays back in roughly 8–12 years on current Utah electric rates. At $3.00+/W, payback stretches past 18 years — often longer than the panels' warranty. Price per watt is the single biggest lever on your ROI.
What brands do you install?
Panels: Canadian Solar, Longi, and Qcells — all Tier 1 with 25-year product warranties. Microinverters: APS DS3 (my default for cost and reliability) or Enphase IQ8 on request. I'm brand-agnostic and not a dealer — I spec what fits the roof and the budget.
Should I add a battery with my solar install?
Depends on your goals. If you want lower bills, solar alone delivers. If you want backup during outages, you need a battery — solar alone shuts off when the grid fails. Most of my Utah solar-only customers come back later to retrofit a battery. If you know upfront you want both, it's usually cheaper to bundle — see Add Battery to Solar or Whole-Home Backup.
Do you pull permits and handle RMP interconnection?
Yes. Every install includes city permit, inspection, and RMP interconnection application. You don't visit city hall. You don't fill out an RMP form. I handle all of it, and it's priced into the quote up front.
What if my roof isn't right for solar?
I'll tell you during the site visit, and I won't try to sell you a system that doesn't make sense. Heavy shading, a roof that needs replacement in under 10 years, or an orientation that's far off true south can all kill the ROI. If it's a no, it's a no. No pitch.
Get the honest number.
Free site visit. I'll walk your roof, read your bills, and give you a real quote before I leave. If the math doesn't work, I'll tell you that too.