Texas solar guide
DIY solar in Texas: incentives, sizing, and the off-grid angle
Texas has no state solar tax credit and no statewide net metering law, but it does have a property-tax exemption on PV systems and a deregulated electricity market that lets you choose your retail provider. Some providers (Green Mountain Energy, Rhythm Energy, Octopus Energy) offer full-retail or near-retail solar buy-back as a competitive perk.
The result: your solar economics in Texas depend almost entirely on your electricity provider. Switching from a non-solar plan to a solar buy-back plan can be worth more than any state credit elsewhere. The federal 26% credit applies the same as anywhere.
Incentive snapshot
As of mid-2026. Verify on your state's energy website before relying on the dollar figures.
- Federal Residential Clean Energy Credit
- 26%
- State tax credit
- —
- Sales tax exemption on solar equipment
- No
- Property tax exemption
- Yes
- Net metering
- Limited / restructured
- SREC market
- None
- Average peak sun hours
- 5.2 hrs/day
- DIY-permit friendly
- Yes
Phases down: 30% through 2025 → 26% in 2026 → 22% in 2027 → 0% under current law. Dwellings only — vehicle/RV systems don't qualify.
Equipment is taxed at standard sales tax rate.
Adding solar doesn't bump your assessed value.
Texas has no statewide net metering. Some utilities (Austin Energy, Green Mountain Energy) offer voluntary buy-back at retail or near-retail rates.
No SREC revenue available in this state.
Used to size your array — more sun hours = fewer panels needed for the same output.
Most counties allow homeowner permits. Deregulated electricity market means you can choose providers that offer favorable solar buy-back.
DIY install angle in Texas
Texas allows homeowner permits in most counties. The permit landscape is fragmented — Austin and Houston have more involved processes; rural counties are usually one form and a fee. No statewide electrical license requirement for own-occupancy work.
The summer heat angle: like Arizona, Texas panels lose real-world output in July/August due to thermal derating. Plan for 15-18% less peak production than spec sheets imply during the hottest months.
Ground-mount popularity: rural Texas builders increasingly skip roof mounts entirely for ground-mount or pole-mount systems on the land they already own. Easier wind/storm-load engineering, no roof penetration, and ground-mount arrays can be tilted seasonally for ~5% better year-round output.
Sizing for Texas sun
Texas averages 5.2 peak sun hours/day, with West Texas (El Paso, Big Bend, Panhandle) hitting 6.0+ and the humid East TX coast averaging closer to 4.8. The geographic spread is wider than any other state — size based on your specific county.
Texas heat = LFP only. Don't put NMC chemistry in a Texas garage or attic, period — thermal runaway risk is real at sustained 110°F+ cabin temps. LFP handles it cleanly. AGM degrades but stays safe.
Winter storm consideration: after February 2021's grid collapse, many Texans now spec their off-grid or hybrid systems with several days of battery autonomy specifically to ride out grid outages. The newer 48V LFP packs (16-32 kWh range) are sized for this use case.
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Enter your panels, battery bank, and load profile. We run the wiring math (NEC 690.7 cold- weather Voc derating, 690.8 ampacity) and recommend charge controllers that actually work together — ranked by price-to-trust, not by who paid us.
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