How Much Does Solar Cost on Long Island in 2026?
The real comparison isn't the price of solar. It's the price of solar versus 30 more years of PSEG bills.
By Steve Maroney, founder of Power House Home Energy · Updated October 2026
Most Long Island homes need a 7–17 kW system. After a 35% Participate Energy Pre-Paid Lease incentive and the 25% New York State Solar Tax Credit ($5,000 max), the net solar cost for most homes is roughly $12k–$25k. Over the next 30 years, those homes would pay PSEG Long Island roughly $114k–$399k as rates rise 3–5% a year. Payback is about 4 years. These figures are averages and illustrative; your costs may vary.
Solar vs. 30 years of PSEG, by monthly bill
Find the row closest to your average monthly PSEG Long Island bill. Each system is sized to cover about 100% of that use.
Bars are drawn to the same scale across every row.
Costs are based on averages and are illustrative. Your costs may vary. Participate Energy incentives range from 25% to 35% for qualifying homeowners.
How we estimated these
Without solar: your current monthly bill, paid for 30 years, with PSEG Long Island costs rising 3% to 5% a year. With solar: a system sized to cover roughly 100% of your use, at about 1,200 kWh of production per kW per year (typical for a well-oriented Long Island roof), based on our average installed pricing, after a 35% Participate Energy Pre-Paid Lease incentive and the 25% New York State Solar Tax Credit ($5,000 max). Payback assumes fully burdened PSEG costs of about $0.27–$0.31 per kWh and panels losing 0.5% of output a year. These are illustrations, not quotes. Shade, roof direction, rate plan, equipment and eligibility all change the result, and Time-of-Day plans can differ more widely. Your proposal will show your exact numbers.
Homes with oil heat: solar plus a heat pump
A home burning about 800 gallons of heating oil a year spends roughly $4,900 on oil at $6.14 a gallon. A high-efficiency heat pump can replace most of that with electricity, adding very roughly 9,000–10,000 kWh a year. Sized for the home and the heat pump together, the solar covers the new heating load and the oil bill goes away. Heat pump equipment is priced separately, and PSEG Long Island heat pump rebates can lower it. See Solar + Heat Pump.
The "without solar" bar here counts only the electric bill. The oil you'd no longer buy, roughly $4,900 a year at today's prices, is additional savings on top.
Homes with pools
A pool pump and heater can add $100–$200 or more a month to a summer bill. Because pool season lines up with the sunniest months, solar is a natural fit, and larger systems cost less per kW to install.
Ways to lower the cost
Get your exact number
This page is a starting point. Send us a recent PSEG bill and we'll design your system on your actual roof, model shade tree by tree, and walk you through every number in your proposal, with no pressure.
Common questions
How much does a solar system cost on Long Island?
Most Long Island homes need a 7–17 kW system. After a 35% Participate Energy Pre-Paid Lease incentive and the 25% New York State Solar Tax Credit ($5,000 max), the net solar cost for most homes is roughly $12k–$25k. These are illustrative averages; your costs may vary.
How long does solar take to pay for itself on Long Island?
With fully burdened PSEG Long Island costs of about $0.27–$0.31 per kWh, most properly sized systems pay for themselves in about 4 years after Participate Energy and the New York tax credit, then keep saving for decades. Results vary by home.
How much would I pay PSEG over 30 years without solar?
If PSEG Long Island costs rise 3–5% a year, a home with a $250 monthly bill would pay roughly $143k–$199k over 30 years, and a home with a $500 bill roughly $285k–$399k.
Why do larger systems cost less per kW?
Design, permitting, PSEG Long Island interconnection and inspection costs are similar for every project, so they're spread over more panels on a larger system, lowering the cost per kW.