"Is it actually worth it?" is the right question — and the honest answer is: for most Denver homeowners with a reasonable roof, yes, but it depends on your specifics. Here's how to think it through.
What Denver has going for it
- Strong sun. Denver gets roughly 300 sunny days a year — among the best solar climates of any major U.S. metro.
- Retail-rate net metering. Xcel Energy credits your excess production at the full retail rate, banking summer surplus against winter bills. Details in our Xcel net metering guide.
- The 30% federal tax credit. The Investment Tax Credit can reduce your net system cost substantially — confirm eligibility with your tax advisor.
- Rising electric rates. Every rate increase makes the electricity your roof produces more valuable.
When solar makes the most sense
The math works best when you have: a monthly electric bill of roughly $100 or more, a roof with decent sun exposure (south is ideal, east/west still works), a roof in good condition, and plans to stay in the home for a while. If your roof needs replacement soon, it's often smart to pair the projects — we do roofing and solar together.
When it makes less sense
We'll tell you straight if solar isn't a fit: heavily shaded lots, very small bills, or a roof at end-of-life that you don't plan to replace. An honest "not yet" is better than a system that underperforms.
Payback, in ballpark terms
Most well-designed Denver systems pay for themselves over a number of years and then produce essentially free electricity for the rest of their 25-30+ year life. Your exact payback depends on your usage, rate schedule, roof, and system cost — which is why we quote real numbers from your actual roof rather than promising a one-size-fits-all figure. For a quick ballpark first, try our solar savings calculator.
How you pay changes the math
Paying cash gives the best lifetime return, but you don’t need cash to own: the Colorado RENU loan finances solar with no money down, a fixed rate, and no lien on your home. Prefer zero upfront cost and no ownership responsibilities? A solar lease can trade some savings for simplicity. We compare all three in our financing guide, and every quote shows them side by side.
Get numbers you can trust
A free assessment from our home solar team gives you production modeling from your real roof, an itemized price, and no-pressure guidance — we're your Denver neighbors, not a national sales machine.