Michigan solar 101: must read before you buy solar panels
Michigan State 53 solar panels available
- $2.40 / W Average gross price of a solar power system as of January 2023
- 9 years Average system payback period
- $41 783 Average savings from going solar in Michigan
- 9 ¢ / kWh Levelized cost of solar energy
- 4.51 kW Recommended system size
Benefit from a PV system
in Michigan
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4.16 hours of peak sunlight
Michigan gets enough sunlight to help your panels pay the electricity bills or at least reduce them substantially
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9 years payback period
A solar power system in Michigan pays for itself a couple of times during its lifespan
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Save money with Net Metering
If you canât use all the electricity your PV system generates, export it to the grid instead of storing it with batteries
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Reduce the cost of your system by 26%
Get a quarter of the PV system cost off your taxes with the Federal Solar Tax Credit
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Earn up to $1,000 selling RECs
RECs are like a currency your PV system prints as a subproduct. It can be sold for extra profit
Michigan #50 in the US
Solar Ranking
- $41 783 Average savings from going solar in Michigan
- 7 644 kWh/year Average electricity consumption of a FL household
- 6 901 kWh/year AC energy output of a 5 kW solar system installed in Michigan
- 16 ¢ /kWh The cost of electricity today in Michigan
- 33 ¢ /kWh The forecast average utility price over the next 25 years
- $2.4/WAverage gross price of a solar power system as of January 2023
What our happy customers say


and I contacted A1. Everything was processed, packed and delivered to Fresno, CA
in under a week. We kept in contact during the installation and I got a few additional
parts from them. A1SolarStore deserves a solid five stars!


Price was reasonable even with shipping added. Actually, it was the best I could find with the panels I wanted.
Customer service was beyond expectations. I received a phone call after the order to verify everything. The rep also went over receiving instructions. I got an email with recieving procedure. I got a follow up call the day before the panels were to be delivered. The day of delivery, the FedEx call also called. I got a follow call afterwards verifying everything was good.I had 8 350 watt panels shipped. They arrived via FedEx on a pallet. Recieving instructions said to not sign the recieving doc until I inspected everything. I am half paralyzed so I asked my neighbor ahead of time to help unpack the panels to inspect for physical damage. The FedEx guy dropped the pallet in my driveway and handed me the package list and then he very quickly left before I was able to inspect the panels. He said he did not need a signature. My mindset immidiately turned negative since fraud, burglary, murders, etc are now legal, encouraged, and even rewarded in the US. To my relief, the panels turned out to be in good shape.
I have had several different panels prior to ordering from A1 Solar. I am used to solar panels outputting 70% or less of the rated output.I hooked up one panel yesterday and I was getting over 85% at 9:30 AM in direct sun output which really suprised me. This number is what the charge controller reported while charging a 12 volt battery bank. My current project that these panels will be used for is my second offgrid system.
Next year after I have my house electrical panels rebuilt to allow for a whole house battery bank, I will be ordering another 7KWH in panels and I plan to order those from A1 Solar Store.


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Solar laws, incentives and rebates in Michigan you need to know
Save 30% of your PV system cost with Federal Solar Tax Credit
The US government wants more people to go solar: itâs a modern and green way of getting energy. This is why the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) program was developed. It allows American citizens to claim 30% of the cost of their installation as an income tax deduction. The cost here is not only solar panels, but also shipping, installation expenses and more. For example, if your system overall made you spend $10,000, the government returns you $3,000. To claim the ITC, complete all the necessary forms and submit them when filing your taxes.
Sell excess electricity with Net Metering Program

Solar laws in Michigan make Net Metering programs available to customers of investor-owned utilities and rural electric cooperatives. The program gives households an opportunity to send any excess electricity back to the grid instead of storing it with batteries.
When you sell your solar power to the utility, you receive credits that can be used to offset your next bills. In Michigan their value is equal to full retail electricity price for the systems with a capacity of 20 kW or less. Avoided cost rate is used for larger systems. The credits may be rolled over indefinitely, the companies neither retire nor purchase them.
Also, the utilities may not apply discriminatory rates to Net Metering customers. In Michigan, companies serving more than 1 million customers are required to supply a compatible meter if requested by a client. Application and interconnection review fees may not exceed $100.
Save additional $300 to $1,000 a year trading RECs

Renewable Energy Credits are certificates granted to any person or entity upon generation of each MWh of clean electricity. Unlike with Net Metering, you donât need to sell any electricity to get credits. The value of RECs is always changing, which makes them similar to stock market assets. Based on the available data, selling RECs could mean anywhere from $300 to $1,000 annually for a 10 kW solar system.
To participate, you have to apply for approval to the Michigan Public Service Commission. After that, you can create a REC account with the Michigan Renewable Energy Certification System (MIRECS) to begin tracking and selling your credits. Keep in mind that in Michigan RECs have a lifetime of only three years.
Get a Michigan Saves loan at 3.99% interest rate to finance going solar
The Michigan Saves non-profit organisation offers loans to homeowners in Michigan who want to finance a PV system purchase and installation. The loan amount can vary from $1,000 to $100,000 and the maximum term length is 15 years. When taking a loan less or equal to $4,999, the term will be one year for every $1,000.
The loan is available for both primary and secondary residences and is compatible with PV systems between 1 and 20 kW. Your debt-to-income ratio must be lower than 50% and your credit score above 640. There is no prepayment penalty.
Install your solar panels in Michigan with no worries
It is legal to install solar panels on your house in Michigan. However, there is no statewide legislation that makes it unlawful to restrict installation of solar PV systems, so itâs best to contact your homeowners organisation (HOA) or study its declaration and rules to find out more. You may have to submit your project for approval before changing the exterior of your house. The board may ask you to hide the system from view, reduce the number of panels or just reject your proposal.
Solar panels help Michigan survive power outages
When it comes to natural disasters, Michigan is one of the safest states in the USA. It doesnât mean that nothing ever happens in the Great Lakes State. Wildfires, storms and sometimes floods break the calm once in a while, interfering with both generating plants and power lines. Your PV modules are designed to handle most hurricanes, meaning you will have a supply of energy in case of a blackout. In 2021, severe storms damaged more than 2,000 power lines, leaving more than 700,000 customers across the state without electricity. Often, the necessary repairs take much more than a few hours, which adds to the list of reasons to go solar.