Solar panels in Tucson, AZ
Down in Southern Arizona under the Santa Catalina Mountains, home to the University of Arizona and miles of saguaro country, Tucson is not Phoenix, and it is not on APS or SRP. Down here it is Tucson Electric Power, and TEP prices and credits solar on its own terms. Southern Arizona also pulls even more sun than the Valley does, so a Tucson roof has plenty to work with. The catch is that a system built for an APS or SRP home is the wrong system for a TEP one, which is exactly why we size yours around TEP from the start.
Most of Tucson is on TEP, though some northwest and outlying areas are served by Trico Electric Cooperative.
Local Arizona solar, designed and managed for you, with licensed local crews on the roof.
Solar for Tucson homeowners
Solar in Tucson: the bottom line
- Tucson gets strong Arizona sun, so a rooftop here has plenty to work with.
- Tucson is served by TEP. TEP wants to raise rates about 13%. It is not approved yet, but it is coming up.
- Solar locks in your power cost, so a TEP rate change only hits the small part of power you still buy.
- You can usually start with $0 down, and the free savings review gives you an honest number for your home.
Why solar makes sense in Tucson
The bottom line: For most Tucson homes, solar is worth a serious look. Tucson runs on TEP, which is asking the state for a rate increase of about 13%, and rooftop solar fixes the cost of your daytime power so aTEP rate change moves a much smaller number. The honest answer for your home comes from the free savings review.
Tucson runs on Tucson Electric Power (TEP), and that is the biggest factor in how a system here gets sized. TEP is asking the state for a rate increase of about 13%, and it is not approved yet. The more you know about where your utility is taking rates, the clearer it gets why fixing the cost of your own power makes sense now, not later.
Arizona sun is the other half of the story. Tucson gets the strong, steady sunlight rooftop solar is built for, and a roof that faces the right way can carry most of your daytime power itself. That is the whole idea: the power your panels make costs you the same every year, while the power you buy from TEP keeps climbing. You can often start with $0 down, so there is no big check up front.
Plenty of the solar companies in Tucson are national chains that drop into Arizona for the season. We are not that. We size the system around your real usage, handle the TEP interconnection and the local permit, and give you an honest number up front. If solar does not pencil out for your roof, we will tell you that too.
What power costs a Tucson home, and what solar saves
Rough ranges by home size, figured the same way our savings calculator figures them. Not a quote.
A home about this big in Arizona
What power costs, and what solar saves
Bigger home, more air conditioning, bigger power bill. Here is roughly what a home each size spends on power from APS today, and roughly how much it would save with its own solar.
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Smaller home
about 1,200 sq ft
$110–$140 a month to APS now
$1,300–$1,700 a year to APS now
With your own solar, save about $1,050–$1,600 a year, on average roughly $90–$135 a month back in your pocket
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Average home
about 1,800 sq ft
$170–$210 a month to APS now
$2,000–$2,500 a year to APS now
With your own solar, save about $1,550–$2,450 a year, on average roughly $130–$205 a month back in your pocket
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Bigger home
about 2,800 sq ft
$270–$320 a month to APS now
$3,200–$3,800 a year to APS now
With your own solar, save about $2,400–$3,800 a year, on average roughly $200–$315 a month back in your pocket
These are rough estimates, not a quote. Your real number depends on your home, your AC, your roof, and your rate plan.
Here is why solar saves you money
It comes down to the price of one unit of power (one kilowatt-hour).
about 15.46¢ a unit
It climbs about 5% every year as APS raises rates.
about 11¢ a unit
$0 down, and the price stays the same year after year.
Your solar price is locked. APS keeps climbing. Today the gap is about 4.5¢ a unit, and every year APS goes up, you save more.
Solar locks in most of your power cost, so it stops climbing. The longer you wait, the more APS raises rates, and the more you miss out on.
How we got these: an Arizona home uses about 0.68 kilowatt-hours per square foot each month (higher than the national average because of air conditioning), at the APS average rate of 15.46 cents per kilowatt-hour, which climbs about 5% a year as rates rise. For a roughly 2,000 sq ft home that lands near the Arizona average of about 1,422 kWh and about $164 a month; summer bills run higher, often $200 to $250. The solar savings are figured the same way our savings calculator figures them: solar covers about 92% of your power at a locked rate of about 11 cents a unit with $0 down (about 7 cents if you pay cash), while APS keeps rising. The savings shown are an average per year over 25 years, so they start smaller and grow as APS climbs. These are rough estimates, not a quote. Your exact cost and savings come from the free savings review. Sources are listed on this page.
Want the number for your exact home? Estimate my savings
Why Tucson homeowners are going solar
Tucson is its own kind of solar market. Most of Tucson is on Tucson Electric Power, not APS or SRP, and southern Arizona pulls some of the strongest sun in the country. Here is why a lot of Tucson homeowners are pricing out solar right now.
- You are on TEP, and TEP is asking the state for a rate increase of about 13% for homes. It is not approved yet, but it is one more reason Tucson families are locking in the cost of their own power now.
- Southern Arizona gets excellent sun. A Tucson roof that faces the right way has plenty to work with, which is exactly what makes the production case strong down here.
- A system built for an APS or SRP home is the wrong system for a TEP one. TEP prices and credits solar on its own terms, so we size your system around TEP from the start.
- You can usually start with $0 down. We run your real TEP bill and your roof, and give you an honest number, even if the honest answer is that solar does not fit your home.
See the full picture on our TEP rate increase page, or run your numbers and we will give you an honest answer for your Tucson home.
What we do in Tucson
We design and manage every part of the project, with licensed local crews on the roof.
Solar Panel Installation
We design your rooftop system to your actual usage and get it installed by licensed local crews.
Learn moreBattery Storage
Add home battery backup so you keep power when the grid goes down.
Learn moreSolar Financing
$0-down options, solar loans, and a straight answer on lease vs buy.
Learn moreSolar Maintenance
Monitoring, cleaning, and repairs to keep production where it should be.
Learn moreSolar in Tucson: common questions
Is solar worth it in Tucson, AZ?
For most Tucson homes, yes. Tucson gets the strong, steady Arizona sun that rooftop solar is built for. TEP is asking the state for a rate increase of about 13%, and it is not approved yet. Owning your daytime power instead of buying all of it from the grid tends to pay off over time. The honest answer for your home comes from looking at your real bill and roof, which is exactly what the free savings review does, even if the answer turns out to be no.
Who is my utility in Tucson?
Tucson is served largely by Tucson Electric Power (TEP). TEP is asking the state for a rate increase of about 13%, and it is not approved yet. That matters for solar because the way TEP prices and credits power shapes how we size and plan your system, so we build it around TEP from the start.
How much does solar cost in Tucson?
It depends on your roof, your home size, and how much power you use, so there is no single price. Most Tucson homeowners start with $0 down, which means no big upfront check. The fastest honest answer is to run your real TEP bill through our free savings review, and we will show you the numbers for your home with no pressure.
How does the TEP rate change affect going solar in Tucson?
TEP is asking the state for a rate increase of about 13%. It is not approved yet, so nothing has changed on your bill today, but rate increases land on the power you buy from the grid. A solar system fixes the cost of your daytime power up front, so a future TEP increase only touches the smaller amount you still buy. You can see the full picture on our TEP rate page.
Do you do solar in Tucson?
Yes. We design rooftop solar, battery storage, and financing for Tucson homeowners on TEP, handle the TEP interconnection paperwork and the local permit for you, and a licensed local crew does the install. Reach out and we will walk you through what solar looks like on your roof and your TEP rate plan.
Nearby cities we serve
Close to Tucson? We serve homeowners across Arizona.
Phoenix
The Valley anchor. High summer cooling loads and rising utility rates make Phoenix rooftops some of the best solar candidates in the country.
APS Solar in PhoenixChandler
Tech-corridor suburb where homeowners run the numbers carefully, and solar usually wins.
SRP Solar in ChandlerMesa
Arizona's third-largest city. Big lots and big roofs mean room for systems sized to cover the whole bill.
SRP Solar in MesaSee what solar would do for your Tucson bill.
Bring a recent TEP bill. We will give you an honest look at the numbers for your Tucson home. About 15 minutes, no hard sell, and it's your call.