Real Roof · Real Numbers · Real Pricing
Your actual solar cost, calculated from your actual roof.
Type your address, slide your monthly bill, choose whether you want backup power, and we'll show you the real numbers: system size, total cost at $2.50 per watt, payback period, and 25-year savings. We do ask for your name, email, and phone before showing the estimate so we can send you a copy you can save or share. No pressure tactics. If solar doesn't make sense for your situation, we'd rather show you that here than pretend otherwise on a sales call.
Solar Cost Calculator
What's your home address?
We use Google Places to autocomplete your address, then load an interactive satellite map of your home with optional 3D angle and fly-around views. Your address is not stored or sent to a sales rep unless you explicitly request a quote.
Satellite imagery of your roof appears here after you enter an address.
What's your average monthly bill?
Use your average across the year (winter and summer combined). The calculator uses this to estimate your annual electricity usage and the system size needed to offset most of it.
Want backup power too?
Adding the Franklin aPower 2 home battery means your home keeps running when the grid goes down. Each unit stores 15 kWh and outputs 10 kW continuous, enough to run a typical home overnight. Stack up to fifteen for whole-home off-grid capability.
Where should we send your numbers?
We'll show your personalized estimate immediately and email you a copy you can save or share. Josh or Tori may follow up to answer questions, but only if you want them to. No call center, no pressure.
Querying Google Solar API for your roof
Your real numbers, calculated.
Estimate based on state averages
A typical Missouri home like yours would use a 7.4 kW system.
25-year lifetime savings · with 3% rate inflation
$48,000+
Conservative estimate. Actual rate increases have been higher (Ameren raised 12% in June 2025).
This is an honest estimate based on real Google Solar API data for your roof and standard Missouri or Kansas utility rates. A real quote requires an in-person roof inspection and accounts for any electrical panel work, tree shading, or roof complexity. Pricing assumes a standard 200-amp service panel and asphalt shingle roof. Battery storage is not included.
How we calculate
The actual math, in full.
Most solar calculators hide their assumptions behind a contact form. We don't. Here's exactly how the calculator computes your estimate, what data sources we use, and where the numbers come from.
Step 1: Address geocoding via Google Places
Your typed address is sent to the Google Places Autocomplete API, which returns structured location data including latitude and longitude coordinates. Address handling is restricted to U.S. addresses with a bias toward Missouri and Kansas. Coordinates are then used to display an interactive Google Maps satellite view, with optional 3D angle tilt and an Aerial View photorealistic drone-style fly-around when Google has rendered one for the address.
Step 2: System sizing from your bill
The calculator estimates your annual electricity usage by multiplying your average monthly bill by 12, then dividing by the local utility's average residential rate per kilowatt-hour. The system size is then sized to offset approximately 100% of that annual usage:
system_kW = (annual_kWh_needed) ÷ (yearly_energy_per_kW)
Where yearly_energy_per_kW uses NREL state-average production figures: 1,350 kWh/kW for Missouri and 1,400 kWh/kW for Kansas. These are conservative figures that account for typical shading, orientation, and seasonal variation. Real production for your specific roof is assessed during the in-person roof inspection at the quote stage using Aurora Solar (a professional-grade design tool).
Step 3: Cost calculation
Total system cost is calculated at $2.50 per watt installed, all-inclusive of equipment, permits, labor, and warranty. This is Solar Assure's actual pricing for standard residential installs and is competitive with the broader Missouri and Kansas market (2025-2026 typical range: $2.50 to $3.50 per watt depending on installer):
total_cost = system_size_W × $2.50
Step 4: Savings and payback
Annual savings in year 1 is calculated as the annual production multiplied by your local utility's residential rate:
annual_savings = annual_kWh_production × $/kWh_rate
Payback period is then total cost divided by annual savings:
payback_years = total_cost ÷ annual_savings
25-year lifetime savings sums each year's projected savings across 25 years (the typical solar panel warranty period and useful economic life), with a 3% annual rate inflation assumption applied to the utility rate, then subtracts the upfront cost. The 3% inflation assumption is conservative; Ameren Missouri raised residential rates 12% in June 2025 alone. Solar production is held constant at the year-1 estimate; Tier-1 panels typically degrade only 0.5% per year, which makes the static-production assumption slightly conservative.
Pricing transparency
What's included at $2.50 per watt.
Honest pricing means being explicit about what the price covers and what it doesn't. Here's the side-by-side. Items in the right column may apply to your install depending on roof and electrical conditions.
All-in at $2.50/W
Included in the calculator price
- Tier-1 solar panels (Q CELLS, Silfab, REC, others)
- Microinverters or string inverters with optimizers
- Racking and mounting hardware
- All wiring, conduit, and junction boxes
- Production monitoring system
- City and county building permits
- Utility interconnection application and fees
- Engineering and design
- Installation labor (licensed Missouri/Kansas crews)
- Standard warranty coverage (25-year panel, 10-25 year inverter)
- Standard 200-amp service panel work
- Final inspection and Permission to Operate (PTO)
Quoted separately
Not included in the base price
- Battery storage (Franklin aPower 2: $15,500 first unit, $12,800 each additional unit; the calculator now estimates this in Step 3)
- Electric vehicle charger installation
- Major electrical panel upgrades (100A or 150A to 200A)
- Tree removal or significant tree trimming
- Roof replacement (recommend before solar if 15+ yrs old)
- Ground-mount installation (custom quote required)
- Special architectural needs (flush-mount, historic district)
- Carport solar or detached structure installs
- Pool heater or pool pump integration
- Smart home integration beyond standard monitoring
Missouri vs. Kansas
Why state matters for solar economics.
The same $2.50 per watt produces different paybacks in Missouri vs. Kansas because of utility rates, sun hours, and net metering law differences. Here's the side-by-side for the typical 7.4 kW residential system used by the calculator's default estimate.
Missouri RSMo 386.890
Kansas K.S.A. 66-1263
Want the full statute-by-statute breakdown? See our Missouri RSMo 386.890 explainer or Kansas K.S.A. 66-1263 explainer.
Common questions
Calculator questions, answered.
What's included at $2.50 per watt?
How accurate is the calculator estimate?
How are 25-year savings calculated?
Does the calculator work outside Missouri and Kansas?
Why does the calculator collect contact info before showing results?
What is the 3D fly-around video and when does it appear?
How much does solar cost in Missouri and Kansas in 2026?
How does the calculator estimate solar costs?
Why is the federal tax credit no longer in the calculation?
How is the payback period calculated?
Josh built this calculator because he was tired of solar quote experiences that hide pricing behind a contact form and a sales pitch. The calculator is intended as honest education, not a binding quote. For questions about your specific situation or to start a real quote with an in-person roof inspection, call (636) 679-0998 and Josh or Tori responds personally. Josh and Tori personally handle every Solar Assure project from quote to interconnection.
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