Honest numbers · Florence, SC
How much do solar panels cost in Florence, SC?
The short answer · as of July 2026
Solar in the Florence area costs about $2.59 per watt installed before incentives as of July 2026. A system near our ~9.5 kW average runs roughly $24,605 gross and about $18,454 once South Carolina's 25% state tax credit is fully claimed. Payback depends on your Duke Energy Progress rate and on how much production you use on site, so we model it from your own bill rather than publishing a market average.
Local pricing reality
What drives price in Florence
Florence is one of the more straightforward markets we price. Pee Dee lots are generously sized with pines around the house rather than over it, so full-day shading is less common than in the older coastal markets, and there are far fewer architectural-review controls on panel visibility. Fewer constraints means less design and submission work, which shows up as a cleaner quote.
What decides the total here is sizing rather than complexity, and sizing is decided by Duke Energy Progress crediting exported power at roughly 2.6 to 4 cents against your full retail rate. That makes the right system one matched to your daytime consumption rather than to your available roof. A larger array is not better value here; it is capacity sold into a market that pays a few cents for it.
Because Duke's residential retail rate depends on your rate schedule rather than a single published figure, insist that any payback arithmetic uses your own bill rather than a state average. Ask what share of production the model assumes you consume on site, and what the payback looks like if that share is ten points lower. That sensitivity matters more than the per-watt price.
Written for Florence specifically. Your own roof, bill and meter still decide the answer, which is what the free assessment settles.
The numbers
What a system costs in Florence, by size
Priced at the local $2.59 per watt benchmark (July 2026) and shown before and after South Carolina's 25% credit. These are worked examples to set expectations, not a quote, and not a promise of savings.
| System size | Cost before incentives | SC 25% credit (TC-38) | Net after credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 kW | $15,540 | $3,885 over 2 tax years | $11,655 |
| 9.5 kW Closest to our ~9.5 kW average system | $24,605 | $6,151 over 2 tax years | $18,454 |
| 12 kW | $31,080 | $7,770 over 3 tax years | $23,310 |
| 15 kW | $38,850 | $9,713 over 3 tax years | $29,138 |
Note the third column carefully. The credit is 25% of system cost but capped at $3,500 per tax year, so a larger system is claimed across several returns rather than all at once. Most pages quoting "25% off" skip this, and it is the most common reason homeowners feel misled later. See exactly how the credit is claimed.
Sizing
Why the calculators overstate your system and your savings
National cost calculators model a 14.48 kW system for the Florence market. Across our combined install experience, the average is about 9.5 kW. That gap is not a rounding difference, it is roughly a third of the system, and it distorts every downstream figure those calculators show you.
An oversized system costs more up front, and because Duke Energy Progress credits exported power at roughly 2.6–4¢ per kWh rather than at retail, the extra production it generates is worth far less than the panels cost. Sizing past your own consumption is the fastest way to make a payback period worse.
So we size to your actual bill, not to our margin. That usually means a smaller system than you were quoted elsewhere, a lower price, and a shorter payback. It also means the savings estimate we give you is one we can defend line by line.
Every system carries our lifetime full-system and roof-penetration warranty, on top of the 25-year manufacturer warranty and 10-year workmanship coverage.
The part competitors leave out
Your utility sets your payback more than your panels do
Most Florence homes are served by Duke Energy Progress , though Pee Dee Electric Cooperative and other cooperatives serve surrounding addresses. Under its Duke's current residential solar rate structure programme, the older one-for-one net metering ended for new residential systems on December 31, 2025. What replaced it changes the entire economics of a rooftop system, and it is why a single national payback figure for Florence is meaningless.
About these rates in Florence
We have not published a retail-rate table for this page because we will not print a Duke rate we have not verified against your own tariff. Duke credits exported power at roughly 2.6–4¢ per kWh, well below retail, so the self-consumption logic below still holds. At the assessment we read your actual bill and model payback against your real rate rather than a market average.
The mechanic is simple. Power you consume the moment you generate it offsets electricity you would have bought at your full retail rate. Power you export earns only roughly 2.6–4¢ per kWh, and So a home that runs its air conditioning, pool pump and laundry during daylight gets a materially better return than an identical home that uses most of its power after dark.
2026 incentives
What reduces this price this year
The net column above already applies South Carolina's 25% credit. Two things worth knowing about it: the $3,500 annual cap means larger systems are claimed across more than one tax return, and the credit is non-refundable, so it is limited by your state tax liability.
The 30% federal credit expired for systems placed in service on or after 1 January 2026. If a quote you are comparing still applies it, that quote is wrong by thousands.
Duke's PowerPair solar-and-battery incentive closed to new applications in Progress territory in late 2025, so it should not be counted on here. Duke's battery bill-credit programme has remained open and pays a monthly credit rather than cash up front. We confirm current status for your address rather than promising a programme that may be full.
Incentives specific to Florence · statewide mechanics and worked examples · financing
Line items
The eight things that move a Florence quote
Two houses on the same street can differ by several thousand dollars for reasons that have nothing to do with panel brand. These are the drivers, in roughly the order they matter here.
- 01
Roof condition and remaining life
The single biggest swing factor in Florence. Panels last decades, so putting them on a roof with five years left means paying to remove and reset them later. If a replacement makes sense first, we say so and can coordinate it as one project.
- 02
Roof material and pitch
Asphalt shingle is the straightforward case. Standing-seam metal is often cheaper to mount because it clamps rather than penetrates. Tile, slate and very low-slope membrane roofs cost more in labour and flashing detail.
- 03
Shading
Pee Dee lots are often generously sized with pines around the house rather than over it, so full-day shading is less common here than in the older coastal cities. Heavy shade may push you toward microinverters or optimisers, which adds cost but recovers production.
- 04
Electrical panel and meter
An older or fully-loaded service panel may need an upgrade before a system can be interconnected. This is a real line item and one of the most common surprises on cheap quotes that skipped a site visit.
- 05
Mounting and structural review
Inland, so salt exposure is not a factor and wind loading is lower than on the coast. Florence County structural review and South Carolina code still apply. That work is what our lifetime roof-penetration warranty stands behind.
- 06
Architectural review and HOA rules
Fewer architectural-review constraints than the Lowcountry markets. Newer subdivisions have HOAs, but historic-district style controls on panel visibility are rare here. Where visibility is restricted, the compliant layout is sometimes not the cheapest one. We design for approval first, then optimise production within those limits.
- 07
Ground mount instead of roof
If the roof genuinely will not work, a ground-mounted array needs trenching, racking and a zoning review, so it typically costs more per watt than a straightforward roof install.
- 08
Battery storage
Optional, and it changes the maths rather than just adding to it. Under Duke's current residential solar rate structure export credits, storing power to use later is worth more than exporting it.
Roof age is the one we raise most often, and the one homeowners least want to hear. See how we handle roof-first projects.
Paying for it
Cash, loan, and the South Carolina trap
Cash gives the shortest payback and clean ownership. A loan spreads the cost and can sit near your current Florence bill, but ask for the cash price and the financed price side by side: a low advertised rate is often bought with a dealer fee of several thousand dollars folded into the system price.
The South Carolina-specific trap: because the state credit is capped at $3,500 a year, it arrives across several tax years. A loan structured around one large first-year credit payment will not behave as presented.
The honest part
When solar is not worth it in Florence
We would rather tell you now than after you have paid for a design
- Duke credits exported power at only a few cents, so if nearly all your usage is after dark and you will not shift load or add storage, your bill will move far less than you expect. This is the big one in Duke territory.
- Your roof needs replacing within about five years.
- Your power bill is under roughly $90 a month.
- Pines shade your best roof planes and you have no open ground for a ground-mount alternative.
- You are likely to move within five years.
If two or more of these describe your home, we will say so during the assessment and we will not design a system to talk you past them. That is the whole point of a free, no-pressure assessment. If circumstances change, we will still be here.
Real systems
What we have actually built
Our team brings 30+ years of combined experience and roughly 450 combined experienced solar PV installs, averaging about 9.5 kW. You can see real photographs of systems we have installed across South Carolina on the homepage gallery.
We are not going to publish a banded price against a specific job and imply it is your price, because the drivers above make that misleading. What we will do at the assessment is walk you through comparable systems we have installed, with the actual figures.
Install photos on this site are real job photography without invented city captions or fabricated price bands. Named reviews appear only when customers give permission—see our reviews page for how we handle proof.
Florence solar cost FAQ
Straight answers on what solar costs in Florence
How much do solar panels cost in Florence, SC?
As of July 2026, solar in the Florence area runs about $2.59 per watt installed before incentives. A system close to our ~9.5 kW average works out to roughly $24,605 gross, or about $18,454 once South Carolina's 25% state tax credit is fully claimed. Your own number depends on your roof, your usage and your utility.
Is there still a 30% federal tax credit for solar in Florence?
No. The federal residential clean energy credit (Section 25D) expired for systems placed in service on or after January 1, 2026. Many pages online still advertise it. South Carolina's own 25% state credit did not expire and is now the main incentive for homeowners here, alongside the property- and sales-tax exemptions.
What is the payback period on solar in Florence?
We will not publish a payback figure for Florence that we cannot stand behind, because Duke Energy Progress's residential rate needs confirming against your own bill. What is certain is that exported power credits at roughly 2.6–4¢ per kWh, well below retail, so the share of production you use on site drives your payback more than any equipment choice. At the assessment we model it against your actual rate.
Why is your average system smaller than the 14.48 kW the calculators show?
Because we size to your bill rather than to a sales quota. National cost calculators model 14.48 kW for this market, which inflates both the price and the projected savings for a typical home. Our combined install experience averages about 9.5 kW. A smaller correctly-sized system usually pays back faster than a larger one you were upsold.
Do you charge for a quote or a site assessment in Florence?
No. The assessment is free and there is no obligation. We look at your roof, your actual usage history and your utility rate, then give you real figures for your address. If solar is a poor fit for your home, we will tell you that instead of designing a system anyway.
Does a solar system add to my property taxes in Florence?
South Carolina exempts qualifying residential renewable energy systems of 20 kW or less from property tax, so an eligible rooftop system should not increase your assessed value. Confirm your own situation with Florence County and a tax professional, since eligibility depends on your circumstances.
Nearby
What solar costs near Florence
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