Solar Rooftop Price List 2026: System Cost, Subsidy and Installation Options in India
Last updated at : Oct 15, 2026
Almost every solar enquiry starts the same way. Someone opens a search tab, types in a size, and gets a number with no context behind it. This guide is the opposite of that. It is a full solar rooftop price list for 2026, running from 1 kW on a small home roof to 100 kW on a factory shed, with the subsidy, the roof area, the daily units and the monthly bill each size actually offsets.
It also covers the part most price lists skip: what is inside the price, what is quietly left out of it, and why two quotes for the same 5 kW system can differ by ₹60,000 without either of them being dishonest.
Prices here are turnkey ranges, not single figures, because rooftop solar genuinely costs different amounts in different states, on different roofs, with different panel brands. Use the tables to set your expectations, then use the quote-comparison section to judge the paper in front of you.
Quick Answer
In 2026, rooftop solar in India costs roughly ₹55,000–₹75,000 per kW for 1–3 kW, ₹47,500–₹65,000 per kW for 4–10 kW, and ₹35,000–₹48,000 per kW above 25 kW. Residential systems get a PM Surya Ghar subsidy of ₹30,000 (1 kW), ₹60,000 (2 kW) and ₹78,000 (3 kW and above, hard cap). Housing societies get ₹18,000 per kW for common facilities up to 500 kW. Commercial buyers get no subsidy but claim 40% accelerated depreciation and GST input credit.
Solar Rooftop Price List 2026: 1 kW to 100 kW
This is the master table. Prices are turnkey: solar rooftop panels, inverter, mounting structure, cabling, protection gear, earthing, installation and GST. Generation is based on the Indian average of 4 to 4.5 units per kW per day. The "bill it offsets" column assumes ₹8 per unit for homes and ₹9 per unit for larger commercial connections, which is a fair 2026 middle.
| Size | Price before subsidy | Per kW | Subsidy | Net price | Roof area (sq ft) | Units/day | Monthly bill offset |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 kW | ₹55,000 – ₹75,000 | ₹55,000–₹75,000 | ₹30,000 | ₹25,000 – ₹45,000 | 60 – 100 | 4 – 4.5 | ~₹1,000 |
| 2 kW | ₹1,10,000 – ₹1,45,000 | ₹55,000–₹72,500 | ₹60,000 | ₹50,000 – ₹85,000 | 120 – 200 | 8 – 9 | ~₹2,000 |
| 3 kW | ₹1,60,000 – ₹2,05,000 | ₹53,000–₹68,000 | ₹78,000 | ₹82,000 – ₹1,27,000 | 180 – 300 | 12 – 13.5 | ~₹3,000 |
| 4 kW | ₹2,00,000 – ₹2,60,000 | ₹50,000–₹65,000 | ₹78,000 | ₹1,22,000 – ₹1,82,000 | 240 – 400 | 16 – 18 | ~₹4,000 |
| 5 kW | ₹2,50,000 – ₹3,20,000 | ₹50,000–₹64,000 | ₹78,000 | ₹1,72,000 – ₹2,42,000 | 300 – 500 | 20 – 22.5 | ~₹5,000 |
| 6 kW | ₹2,95,000 – ₹3,75,000 | ₹49,000–₹62,500 | ₹78,000 | ₹2,17,000 – ₹2,97,000 | 360 – 600 | 24 – 27 | ~₹6,000 |
| 8 kW | ₹3,85,000 – ₹4,85,000 | ₹48,000–₹60,500 | ₹78,000 | ₹3,07,000 – ₹4,07,000 | 480 – 800 | 32 – 36 | ~₹8,000 |
| 10 kW | ₹4,75,000 – ₹6,00,000 | ₹47,500–₹60,000 | ₹78,000 | ₹3,97,000 – ₹5,22,000 | 600 – 1,000 | 40 – 45 | ~₹10,000 |
| 15 kW | ₹6,75,000 – ₹8,25,000 | ₹45,000–₹55,000 | ₹2,70,000 (RWA only) | ₹4,05,000 – ₹8,25,000 | 900 – 1,500 | 60 – 67 | ~₹17,000 |
| 20 kW | ₹8,60,000 – ₹10,40,000 | ₹43,000–₹52,000 | ₹3,60,000 (RWA only) | ₹5,00,000 – ₹10,40,000 | 1,200 – 2,000 | 80 – 90 | ~₹23,000 |
| 25 kW | ₹10,50,000 – ₹12,75,000 | ₹42,000–₹51,000 | ₹4,50,000 (RWA only) | ₹6,00,000 – ₹12,75,000 | 1,500 – 2,500 | 100 – 112 | ~₹28,500 |
| 50 kW | ₹20,00,000 – ₹24,00,000 | ₹40,000–₹48,000 | ₹9,00,000 (RWA only) | ₹11,00,000 – ₹24,00,000 | 3,000 – 5,000 | 200 – 225 | ~₹57,000 |
| 100 kW | ₹35,00,000 – ₹45,00,000 | ₹35,000–₹45,000 | ₹18,00,000 (RWA only) | ₹17,00,000 – ₹45,00,000 | 6,000 – 10,000 | 400 – 450 | ~₹1,15,000 |
Read the subsidy column carefully. From 1 kW to 10 kW, an individual household gets the PM Surya Ghar residential subsidy, capped at ₹78,000. From 15 kW upward, that residential subsidy no longer applies to a single home. What applies instead is the ₹18,000 per kW group housing rate, and only when the system serves the common facilities of a registered society or RWA. A shop, a school or a factory of the same size gets nothing, which is why the net price column for large sizes shows the full pre-subsidy figure at its upper end.
The 4 kW row is the single most requested size in India, and it has enough moving parts, the subsidy cap in particular, to deserve its own treatment. We cover the 4 kW price, its component split, payback maths and financing in a separate dedicated guide.
Why the Per-kW Price Falls as the System Gets Bigger
A 1 kW system costs about ₹65,000 per kW. A 100 kW system costs about ₹40,000 per kW. Same panels, same physics, very different rate. Four things explain the gap.
Fixed costs get spread thinner. A site survey, a DISCOM application, a design, a scaffold, a crane visit and a commissioning day cost roughly the same whether the roof carries 3 kW or 30 kW. On a small system those fixed items can be 15% of the bill. On 100 kW they are barely 2%.
Inverters get cheaper per kW. A 3 kW single-phase string inverter costs around ₹30,000, or ₹10,000 per kW. A 50 kW three-phase inverter does not cost seventeen times as much. Larger inverters are typically ₹4,000 to ₹6,000 per kW.
Procurement improves. A 100 kW order buys a full container of modules at close to ex-works price. A 3 kW order buys six panels from a dealer's floor stock with dealer margin attached.
Labour is more efficient. The same team that installs one 5 kW system in two days installs 25 kW in five. Per kW, that is less than half the labour cost.
The counterpoint is the subsidy. Below 3 kW the subsidy is so large relative to system cost that the effective per-kW price is lowest at the small end, not the large end. A 2 kW system costs ₹1,25,000 and nets to ₹65,000, which is ₹32,500 per kW after subsidy, cheaper per kW than any commercial system in the country. Gross price falls with size. Net price does not.
On-Grid vs Off-Grid vs Hybrid: What Each Costs
| Type | What it is | Price per kW (2026) | Subsidy eligible | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-grid | Grid-tied, no battery, exports surplus through a net meter | ₹35,000 – ₹75,000 depending on size | Yes | Most homes, societies and businesses with usable grid supply |
| Off-grid with lead-acid | Battery only, no grid connection | ₹72,500 – ₹90,000 | No | Farms, remote sites, places with no grid |
| Off-grid with lithium | LiFePO4 battery, longer life | ₹90,000 – ₹1,05,000 | No | Off-grid sites wanting 10-year battery life |
| Hybrid | Grid-tied plus battery backup | ₹80,000 – ₹1,12,500 | Sometimes, confirm with DISCOM | Long, frequent power cuts |
The battery is the entire reason for the price gap. In 2026, lithium LiFePO4 costs roughly ₹18,000–₹35,000 per kWh installed against ₹8,000–₹14,000 per kWh for lead-acid tubular. Lead-acid looks cheaper until you account for usable depth of discharge: about 50% for lead-acid against 80–90% for lithium, and 500–800 cycles against 2,000–4,000 plus. Per usable kWh over ten years, lithium is usually the cheaper battery.
Off-grid systems do not qualify for PM Surya Ghar, because the scheme is built around grid-connected, net-metered installations. Hybrids sit in a grey zone that varies by DISCOM. Get it in writing before you order.
What Is Actually Inside the Price
Here is where the money goes on a typical mid-size on-grid system. Shares shift a few points with size, but the shape holds.
| Component | Job it does | Share of cost |
|---|---|---|
| Solar rooftop panels (DCR modules for subsidised systems) | Convert sunlight into DC power | 40 – 45% |
| Grid-tie inverter | Converts DC to AC and synchronises with the grid | 14 – 18% |
| Mounting structure | Holds panels at tilt, resists wind load | 10 – 14% |
| DC and AC cables, conduits, connectors | Carry power from roof to meter safely | 5 – 8% |
| ACDB, DCDB, surge protection | Isolate and protect the circuit in a fault | 3 – 5% |
| Earthing pits and lightning arrestor | Route stray current and lightning to ground | 3 – 5% |
| Net meter and DISCOM charges | The bidirectional meter and its paperwork | 2 – 5% |
| Installation, transport, commissioning | Building, testing and switching it on | 9 – 12% |
| GST | 5% on devices, 18% on service portion; about 8.9% effective on a turnkey contract | ~8 – 9% of package |
Panel pricing is the swing factor. In April 2026, mono PERC 500 Wp non-DCR modules were around ₹13.8 per Wp ex-works and TOPCon non-DCR around ₹14.2 per Wp, while DCR TOPCon was about ₹22.3 per Wp. DCR means Indian cells in Indian modules, and it is compulsory for subsidised residential systems. That is a real cost difference of ₹8 per watt, or ₹40,000 on a 5 kW system, which the ₹78,000 subsidy more than covers.
What Is NOT in Most Quotes
This is where buyers get ambushed. A quote of ₹2,50,000 becomes ₹3,10,000 by commissioning day, and every extra is technically legitimate. Ask about each of these in writing before you sign.
| Item often excluded | Typical extra cost | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Elevated structure or walkway | ₹3,000 – ₹10,000 per kW | Panels raised above a water tank, or parking kept usable below |
| Long cable runs | ₹150 – ₹400 per metre | Inverter or meter far from the array, common in bungalows and factories |
| DISCOM application and processing charges | ₹1,500 – ₹15,000 | Varies by state and by system size |
| Net meter cost | ₹3,000 – ₹12,000 | Some DISCOMs supply it, others bill you for it |
| Sanctioned load enhancement | ₹5,000 – ₹40,000 | Your solar capacity generally cannot exceed sanctioned load |
| Scaffolding | ₹5,000 – ₹25,000 | Multi-storey buildings, tight access, society terraces |
| Crane or hydra hire | ₹8,000 – ₹30,000 per day | Buildings above three floors, large modules, factory sheds |
| Civil work | ₹10,000 – ₹60,000 | Concrete pedestals, waterproofing repair, cable trenching |
| Lightning arrestor and extra earthing | ₹8,000 – ₹20,000 | Tall or exposed buildings, mandatory in several states |
| Liaisoning and CEIG approval | ₹10,000 – ₹50,000 | Systems above roughly 10 kW, or HT connections |
| Annual maintenance after year one | ₹800 – ₹1,500 per kW per year | Free in year one, chargeable afterwards |
None of these are scams. They become a problem only when a salesperson wins the order on a bare-bones number and reveals the rest afterwards. The fix is one line in your enquiry: "Please quote a fully commissioned price including all structure, civil, liaisoning, meter and DISCOM charges, and list anything excluded."
How to Size Your System: A 3-Step Solar Rooftop Calculator You Can Do Yourself
Every online solar rooftop calculator runs the same three steps. You can do them on the back of your bill in two minutes, and you will catch a vendor trying to oversell you.
Step 1: Find your true monthly consumption. Take twelve months of bills, add the units, divide by twelve. Not your worst summer month. The annual average, because solar settles over a year.
Step 2: Convert units to kilowatts. One kW makes about 4.2 units a day, so roughly 125 units a month. Divide your average monthly units by 125. If you use 500 units, that is 4 kW.
Step 3: Sanity-check against roof and load. Multiply your kW figure by 80 sq ft. If your shade-free roof is smaller, you are limited by area, not by appetite. Then check your sanctioned load on the bill. Most DISCOMs will not sanction solar capacity above it without a load enhancement.
| Your average monthly units | Indicative system size | Shade-free roof needed | Typical net cost after subsidy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 125 | 1 kW | 60 – 100 sq ft | ₹25,000 – ₹45,000 |
| 125 – 250 | 2 kW | 120 – 200 sq ft | ₹50,000 – ₹85,000 |
| 250 – 400 | 3 kW | 180 – 300 sq ft | ₹82,000 – ₹1,27,000 |
| 400 – 600 | 4 – 5 kW | 240 – 500 sq ft | ₹1,22,000 – ₹2,42,000 |
| 600 – 900 | 6 – 7 kW | 360 – 700 sq ft | ₹2,17,000 – ₹3,50,000 |
| 900 – 1,300 | 8 – 10 kW | 480 – 1,000 sq ft | ₹3,07,000 – ₹5,22,000 |
| 1,300 – 3,000 | 12 – 25 kW | 720 – 2,500 sq ft | Depends on subsidy category |
| Above 3,000 | 25 kW+ | 1,500 sq ft+ | Commercial pricing, no subsidy |
One deliberate correction to the arithmetic: because the subsidy caps at ₹78,000 at 3 kW, do not round upward casually. Every kilowatt above the third is fully self-funded at roughly ₹50,000 to ₹65,000.
PM Surya Ghar: How the Solar Rooftop Scheme Works End to End
PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana is the national residential solar rooftop scheme, with an outlay of ₹75,021 crore and a target of one crore households. By 4 August 2026 it had reached 50.06 lakh households and 14.8 GW, with ₹28,024 crore disbursed by Direct Benefit Transfer. Roughly 19 lakh households now report zero electricity bills. July 2026 was the peak month at 5.06 lakh households added, and the government targets 75 lakh households by December 2026.
| Category | Subsidy |
|---|---|
| Residential, 1 kW | ₹30,000 |
| Residential, 2 kW | ₹60,000 |
| Residential, 3 kW and above | ₹78,000 (hard cap) |
| Group housing society / RWA common facilities | ₹18,000 per kW, up to 500 kW |
| Commercial, industrial, institutional | Nil |
The process runs in a fixed order. Register at pmsuryaghar.gov.in with your consumer number and DISCOM. Pick a registered vendor, of which there were 34,219 as of August 2026. The DISCOM checks feasibility against your transformer and sanctioned load. You install with DCR modules from ALMM List-I. The DISCOM installs a net meter, expected within 30 working days of approval under the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules. An inspector commissions the system and issues the certificate. You upload the certificate and bank details, and the subsidy lands by DBT, usually in 30 to 45 days. Six to ten weeks end to end is realistic, with feasibility approval and the net meter causing most delays, not the build.
Two other components of the scheme are worth knowing. Model Solar Village has an ₹800 crore allocation and awards ₹1 crore to each selected village, chosen competitively among revenue villages above 5,000 population, or 2,000 in special category states. RESCO and Utility Led Aggregation models let a developer or the DISCOM itself own the system so the household pays nothing upfront, backed by a ₹100 crore payment security mechanism corpus to de-risk those investments.
Housing Societies and RWAs
A society is not a big house, and the money works differently. The ₹18,000 per kW subsidy applies to systems serving common facilities: lifts, water pumps, corridor and podium lighting, STP, clubhouse and EV charging. The cap is 500 kW per society, calculated at up to 3 kW per household, and it includes capacity installed by individual residents on their own flats.
On a 50 kW society system costing ₹22,00,000, the subsidy is ₹9,00,000 and the net comes to ₹13,00,000. That system makes about 6,300 units a month. At a commercial society tariff of ₹9 a unit, it removes roughly ₹57,000 a month from the maintenance budget, paying back in under two years net of subsidy.
Two practical conditions. Modules must be DCR or made-in-India to qualify. And the installation needs a proper society resolution, because the asset sits on shared property. Karnataka introduced virtual net metering for housing societies in July 2025, which lets one installation be shared across flats. Other states are watching that model.
Commercial and Industrial Pricing
C&I rooftop is cheaper per kW and gets no subsidy. Large systems above 100 kW land at ₹35,000 to ₹45,000 per kW turnkey. What replaces the subsidy is tax.
Accelerated depreciation. Solar assets attract 40% depreciation on written down value in the first year. An extra 20% under Section 32(1)(iia) exists but applies only to manufacturing and power businesses, and companies on the concessional 115BAA regime cannot claim it at all. If the system runs fewer than 180 days in its first year, the first-year claim halves to 20%. On a ₹45 lakh system at a 25% tax rate, 40% depreciation gives ₹18 lakh of deduction and about ₹4.5 lakh of first-year tax saved.
GST input credit. A GST-registered business can claim input tax credit on the GST paid, which on a turnkey contract works out to about 8.9% of contract value, provided the electricity feeds taxable business use. A homeowner cannot. Between the two, a commercial buyer's effective cost often falls 15–25% below the invoice.
CAPEX vs OPEX and RESCO
| CAPEX (you own it) | OPEX / RESCO / PPA (developer owns it) | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Full system price | Zero |
| You pay | One-time capital | ₹3.5 – ₹5.5 per unit consumed |
| Savings | 60 – 90% of the bill | 20 – 40% of the bill, from day one |
| Tax benefit | Depreciation and ITC to you | To the developer |
| Maintenance | Yours | Developer's |
| Tenure | You own the asset for 25 years | 15 – 25 year PPA, then transfer at nominal cost |
| Minimum size | Any | Usually 100 kW+, sometimes 50 kW |
CAPEX gives far larger lifetime savings and a three-to-five-year payback. OPEX gives immediate cash-flow relief with no capital. If you have the capital and a stable credit profile, CAPEX wins on numbers. If capital is tight or the roof belongs to a leased building, OPEX is the sensible route. Check escalation, which runs 0–3% a year, and the buyout clause before signing.
Why the Price Differs From State to State
The same 5 kW system can differ by ₹40,000 between Surat and Guwahati. Sunlight is part of it: Gujarat and Rajasthan get 4.5 units per kW per day while coastal and eastern states get closer to 4. Freight matters, since modules travel from clusters in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, and the north-east pays the most. Coastal sites in Kerala, Goa and Mumbai need heavier galvanising or aluminium against salt corrosion. High-wind zones need deeper foundations. DISCOM charges, inspection fees and net-metering caps all vary. A few states add a top-up over the central subsidy, most notably Uttar Pradesh at ₹15,000 per kW capped at ₹30,000, but these are budget-linked and often pause. Never budget on a state top-up unless your state nodal agency confirms it in writing.
How to Read and Compare Quotes Line by Line
Ask every vendor for the same eight lines, then compare only those.
- Module make, model and exact wattage, with ALMM List-I registration number.
- Total DC capacity in Wp, not "5 kW", because 5,940 Wp and 5,000 Wp are different systems.
- Inverter make, model, rating and warranty in years.
- Structure specification: galvanised iron thickness in microns, height in feet, wind-speed rating.
- Cable make and cross-section in sq mm for both DC and AC.
- Earthing pit count and whether a lightning arrestor is included.
- Net meter, DISCOM charges and liaisoning, marked included or excluded.
- Scope exclusions, written out.
Red Flags in Cheap Quotes
A price far below ₹45,000 per kW on a small residential system usually means non-DCR panels that will fail your subsidy claim, or an undersized structure. A quote that says only "5 kW system, ₹2,20,000" with no make or model is not a quote, it is a placeholder. Watch for undersized DC cable, which saves a few thousand and costs 2–4% of output every year for 25 years. Watch for warranties printed on the installer's letterhead rather than the manufacturer's. Watch for an advance above 20–30% before material arrives. And check the vendor's registration on the national portal, because an unregistered installer means no subsidy at all.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Sizing to your worst month. Solar settles annually. Size to the twelve-month average or you will overpay for capacity that exports at a low settlement rate.
Ignoring sanctioned load. If your sanctioned load is 3 kW, a 6 kW system needs an enhancement, and that costs money and weeks.
Comparing gross prices across different scopes. One quote includes the elevated structure and the DISCOM fee, the other does not. Compare commissioned cost, not quoted cost.
Assuming above 10 kW gets residential subsidy. It does not. Only the RWA route applies at that size, and only for common facilities.
Skipping the shadow study. One chimney shadow across one panel can drag down an entire string.
Neglecting cleaning. Soiling costs 3–8% of output typically, and 15–25% in dusty or industrial areas if panels go unwashed for months.
The 2026 Update: ALMM List-II, the GST Cut and Where Prices Go Next
Three changes define 2026 pricing.
GST fell from 12% to 5% on renewable energy devices with effect from 22 September 2025. PIB estimated this made a 3 kW rooftop system roughly ₹9,000–₹10,500 cheaper, and saves ₹20–25 lakh per MW at utility scale. Note that 5% is the rate on the equipment, not on your whole bill: a turnkey installation is a composite supply, billed as 70% goods at 5% and 30% service at 18%, so the effective rate on the contract is about 8.9%, down from 13.8% before the cut. That saving is already inside every price in this article.
ALMM List-II came into force on 1 June 2026. List-I covers approved modules. List-II covers approved domestic solar cells, and now applies to government and government-supported projects, net-metered projects and open-access projects commissioned after that date. MNRE refused a blanket extension but allows case-by-case relief through the DCR portal at solardcrportal.nise.res.in. Panels are checked at inspection and non-listed panels are rejected outright. List-III, covering ingots and wafers, is scheduled for 1 June 2028. The practical effect is that domestic cell demand is tight, so DCR module prices stay firm even as global module prices soften.
Net metering keeps shifting. Limits vary widely, from around 10 kW residential in Maharashtra to 500 kW in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh and 1 MW in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Kerala has proposed tightening residential net metering, and the draft National Electricity Policy signals a possible move toward gross metering for larger systems, with grandfathering discussed for existing consumers. Confirm your state's current rule before you size above 10 kW.
Net direction for prices: gross prices are broadly flat to slightly lower for non-DCR equipment, firm for DCR, and the biggest single variable in your final number remains scope, not the panel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the solar rooftop price list for 2026 in India?
Roughly ₹55,000–₹75,000 per kW for 1–3 kW systems, ₹47,500–₹65,000 per kW for 4–10 kW, ₹42,000–₹55,000 per kW for 15–25 kW, and ₹35,000–₹45,000 per kW at 100 kW. These are turnkey on-grid prices including panels, inverter, structure, wiring, installation and GST. Off-grid and hybrid systems cost considerably more because of batteries.
Q2. What is the solar rooftop price list with subsidy?
Subtract ₹30,000 for 1 kW, ₹60,000 for 2 kW and ₹78,000 for 3 kW and above. So a 3 kW system nets to about ₹82,000–₹1,27,000 and a 5 kW system to about ₹1,72,000–₹2,42,000. Housing societies subtract ₹18,000 per kW instead, up to 500 kW, for common-facility systems. Commercial buyers get no subsidy.
Q3. Why do prices per kW fall as system size grows?
Fixed costs such as survey, design, DISCOM paperwork, scaffolding and commissioning barely change with size, so they spread thinner. Larger inverters cost less per kW. Bulk module procurement gets closer to ex-works price. And installation labour is far more efficient per kW on a large job. Together these take the rate from around ₹65,000 per kW at 1 kW to around ₹40,000 at 100 kW.
Q4. Is a 1 kW or a 10 kW system better value?
On gross price per kW, 10 kW. On net price per kW after subsidy, the small sizes win, because the subsidy is proportionally huge below 3 kW. A 2 kW system can net to about ₹32,500 per kW, cheaper than any commercial system. The right answer is neither: buy the size that matches your annual consumption.
Q5. How much roof do I need per kW?
About 60 to 100 sq ft of shade-free roof per kW. High-efficiency TOPCon modules sit at the lower end, near 60 to 70 sq ft. Older or lower-efficiency panels, tilted structures and walkway clearance push you toward 100 sq ft. Shade-free matters more than raw area, since one shadow can affect a whole string.
Q6. How many units will my system generate?
About 4 to 4.5 units per kW per day averaged over the year, which is 1,400 to 1,600 units per kW annually. Gujarat and Rajasthan sit at the top of that band. Coastal, eastern and heavily clouded regions sit lower. A 5 kW system therefore makes roughly 20 to 22 units a day and 7,000 to 8,000 units a year.
Q7. Which costs are usually left out of a solar rooftop installation quote?
Elevated or walkway structures, long cable runs, DISCOM application charges, sanctioned load enhancement, the net meter itself, scaffolding, crane hire, civil work such as pedestals and waterproofing, extra earthing and lightning arrestors, CEIG liaisoning above roughly 10 kW, and annual maintenance after year one. Ask for a fully commissioned price with exclusions listed in writing.
Q8. How do I size a system from my electricity bill?
Three steps. Average your last twelve months of units. Divide by 125, since 1 kW makes about 125 units a month. Then check the answer against your shade-free roof at 80 sq ft per kW and against your sanctioned load. If you use 500 units a month, you need about 4 kW, around 320 sq ft, and at least 4 kW of sanctioned load.
Q9. Can I get a subsidy on a system above 10 kW?
Not as an individual household. The PM Surya Ghar residential subsidy caps at ₹78,000 and applies to individual residential rooftop systems. Above that, the route is the group housing society or RWA category at ₹18,000 per kW up to 500 kW, and only for common facilities. Commercial, industrial and institutional buyers receive no central subsidy.
Q10. How does the RWA subsidy of ₹18,000 per kW work?
It applies to systems powering common facilities: lifts, pumps, corridor lighting, STP, clubhouse and EV charging. The 500 kW cap is computed at up to 3 kW per household and includes capacity residents install on their own flats. Modules must be DCR or made in India. You will also need a society resolution, since the asset sits on shared property.
Q11. What is the Model Solar Village component?
It is a part of PM Surya Ghar with an ₹800 crore allocation that gives ₹1 crore to each selected model solar village. Villages compete for selection, must be revenue villages with populations above 5,000, or 2,000 in special category states, and are assessed on their distributed renewable capacity six months after a District Level Committee identifies them.
Q12. What is Utility Led Aggregation under the scheme?
It is a delivery model where the DISCOM or a state-designated agency installs rooftop solar on households' behalf, instead of each household arranging it themselves. The related RESCO model lets a developer own the system while the household pays only for units consumed. A ₹100 crore payment security mechanism corpus backs these models to de-risk investment.
Q13. What is the difference between CAPEX and OPEX solar?
Under CAPEX you buy and own the system, take all the savings, and claim depreciation and input credit. Under OPEX or RESCO a developer funds and owns it, and you buy units at roughly ₹3.5 to ₹5.5 per kWh under a 15 to 25 year PPA. CAPEX pays back in three to five years and saves far more over 25. OPEX needs no capital.
Q14. What tax benefits do commercial buyers get instead of a subsidy?
Accelerated depreciation at 40% on written down value in the first year, halved to 20% if the system runs under 180 days that year. An extra 20% under Section 32(1)(iia) applies only to manufacturing and power businesses, and not to companies on the 115BAA regime. GST-registered businesses can also claim input credit on the GST paid, which comes to about 8.9% of a turnkey contract value.
Q15. Why does the same system cost different amounts in different states?
Freight from module clusters in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, coastal corrosion protection, high-wind foundations, differing DISCOM and inspection charges, local labour rates, and the presence or absence of a state top-up. Sunlight differs too, so the same hardware yields more in Rajasthan than in Kerala, changing the value even where the price matches.
Q16. What are the red flags in a cheap quote?
No make or model named. A price far below ₹45,000 per kW on a small residential system, which usually means non-DCR panels that will fail your subsidy claim. Undersized DC cable. Structure with no stated galvanising thickness or wind rating. Warranties on the installer's letterhead rather than the manufacturer's. Advances above 20–30% before material arrives. And an installer not registered on the national portal.
Q17. What changed in 2026 that affects rooftop solar prices?
GST on renewable energy devices fell from 12% to 5% effective 22 September 2025, worth roughly ₹9,000–₹10,500 on a 3 kW system. ALMM List-II for domestic solar cells came into force on 1 June 2026 for government-supported, net-metered and open-access projects, keeping DCR module prices firm. Net metering rules continue to tighten in several states.
Q18. How long does a solar rooftop installation take end to end?
Six to ten weeks typically. The physical build takes two to three days for a small home system and a week or two for a mid-size commercial one. Time goes into DISCOM feasibility approval, net meter installation and inspection. The subsidy arrives by DBT usually 30 to 45 days after commissioning, so budget about three months in total.
Q19. Does a small rooftop system earn carbon credits?
Not realistically on its own. India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme runs monthly trading on power exchanges, with a compliance segment for obligated entities and an offset segment for voluntary participants, under CERC regulations notified on 27 February 2026. A single home system generates too few credits to justify registration and verification cost. Aggregation across many rooftops is the practical route.
Q20. Do I earn money from surplus units I export?
Usually as credits adjusted against future bills, settled annually at a state-approved rate rather than paid monthly in cash. Under PM Surya Ghar, more than 12 lakh households earned ₹421 crore from surplus export in FY 2024-25, around ₹3,500 per household per year. Rates and settlement rules vary by state, so check your DISCOM's net metering regulations.
Talk to a Solnce Expert
Solnce Energy has installed over 100 MW of solar and serves 1,500+ customers across rooftop, C&I, solar parks and PPAs. We are based in Surat, Gujarat, and were backed on Shark Tank India Season 4. If you want a price for your own roof, send us your last electricity bill and we will size the system, quote it line by line, and list every exclusion upfront. Our team also handles the DISCOM paperwork and the PM Surya Ghar subsidy claim end to end.
