Sacramento solar guides
Nine plain-English guides to going solar in the Sacramento region — costs, utilities, incentives, sizing and how to tell a real installer from a sales office. Nothing gated, nothing exchanged for your email address.
What Solar Costs in Sacramento
What a Sacramento system actually costs in 2026, what drives the number up or down, and how to compare two quotes that look identical on the cover page.
Read the guideSMUD vs PG&E Solar Rules
The Sacramento region is split between three different kinds of utility, and they credit your exported power in three different ways. This is the one that catches people out.
Read the guideSolar Incentives & Rebates
What is actually still available in 2026 after the federal residential credit expired — and what never applied to Sacramento in the first place.
Read the guideChoosing a Solar Company
Licensing, in-house crews versus subcontractors, warranty depth and the questions that separate a real installer from a sales office.
Read the guideIs Solar Right For My Home?
Roof age, orientation, shade, electrical service and how long you plan to stay — an honest checklist, including the cases where the answer is no.
Read the guideWhat Size System Do I Need?
Work out your own system size from your utility bill in about ten minutes, before anyone quotes you.
Read the guideLeasing vs Buying
Ownership, maintenance responsibility, escalator clauses and what each route does to your home sale. No recommendation — just the mechanics.
Read the guideThe Cost of Doing Nothing
The comparison most people skip: what twenty more years of rising Sacramento electricity rates costs if you simply keep paying the bill.
Read the guideMaintenance & Cleaning
Central Valley dust, summer wildfire ash and pollen season all cut production. What actually needs doing, how often, and what is a waste of money.
Read the guideIf you only read three of them
1. Find out which utility you are on
SMUD, PG&E, Roseville Electric and Lodi Electric credit exported solar in materially different ways. This single fact shapes the whole quote, and it is the one most often got wrong.
Read it2. Work out your own system size
Ten minutes with a power bill and you will know roughly what you need — before anyone quotes you. It is the best defence against being oversold.
Read it3. Learn what it should cost
Price per watt, what drives it up and down locally, and how to compare two quotes that look identical on the cover page.
Read itSee what solar would actually cost on your roof.
Every quote is built from your real roof, your real shade and your real power bill — not a guess from a call centre. It is free, and there is no obligation to move forward.