Wind vs Solar Savings & ROI Calculator
Solar system (residential)
Wind system (residential)
| Metric | Solar | Wind |
|---|---|---|
| Annual production (kWh) | — | — |
| Annual gross savings ($) | — | — |
| Annual maintenance ($) | — | — |
| Annual net benefit ($) | — | — |
| Payback (years) | — | — |
| Lifetime savings (nominal, $) | — | — |
| CO₂ avoided per year (kg) | — | — |
How this works & assumptions
Production: annual production = size(kW) × 24 × 365 × capacity factor. Capacity factor is the fraction of time the system produces at rated power (editable). Example: 0.17 = 17%.
Gross savings: production used × $/kWh + annual incentives. Production used is capped at your annual usage to avoid overstating savings when production exceeds needs.
Net benefit: gross savings − annual maintenance.
Payback: (installation cost − one-time incentives) / net annual benefit. If net annual benefit ≤ 0, payback is shown as “Not recovering”.
Lifetime savings: sum of net annual benefits over the horizon (no inflation) — displayed nominally. Use discount rate above for NPV (optional future upgrade).
This is a simplified calculator for estimates only. For precise site-level design use PVWatts and local wind resource data.