Is solar worth it for your Illinois home? Find out in 60 seconds.

For many ComEd and Ameren homes, yes — but not all, and not automatically. The federal residential credit (§25D) ended December 31, 2025, yet Illinois' own stack — Illinois Shines REC payments, the $300-per-kW smart-inverter rebate, and supply-only net-metering credits — still stands while supply prices run roughly 50% above two years ago. The honest answer depends on your roof, shade, usage, and utility. Read the full 2026 breakdown — or check your home in about 60 seconds.

No. The eligibility check simply shows whether a full review makes sense for your home. It doesn't commit you to buy, switch suppliers, or sign a contract. It's free to you — we're paid by the installation partner only if you go ahead, never by the homeowner.

No mass lists. Your information isn't sent to a roster of solar companies — it goes to our review team, and if you schedule a review, to the one company that will conduct it. Calls come from real people at The Day Company who identify themselves, never from AI voice or robocalls, and conversations happen at a time you pick. You can stop contact any time by replying STOP to a text or telling us on a call. See exactly how your data is handled in our privacy policy.

No. The calculator gives illustrative estimates, not a quote or a promise. You control the assumptions, and the figures don't include system price, financing, taxes, or incentives. We don't publish payback periods or percentage savings claims for the same reason: your real numbers come from a full review of your specific home, not from a website.

Yes. The federal residential solar credit (Section 25D) expired December 31, 2025, and doesn't apply to systems purchased with cash or a loan in 2026. Illinois has its own, separate programs — like Illinois Shines — that remain active, and one of them is now easier to claim precisely because the federal credit is gone. Read the full breakdown of what ended and what didn't.

Both summer Prices to Compare — ComEd's 10.399¢ and Ameren's 11.326¢ per kWh — end September 30, 2026, and a non-summer supply rate takes over on October 1. Neither utility has published that figure yet (we checked September 3), and we don't estimate it. What is on the record: the Citizens Utility Board expects ComEd's price to stay elevated and Ameren's to drop, as it did last October, when Ameren's non-summer rate fell about 31% and split at 800 kWh — one price for the first 800 kWh, a lower one above it. For solar, the reset changes the supply rate your exports are credited against; delivery charges are set separately. The day the figures post, the rate-reset guide and every number on this page that depends on them get re-dated. What changes on October 1, and what it means for sizing a system.

Illinois publishes its own modelled figure: about $3.73 per DC watt in ComEd territory and $3.66 in Ameren territory, from the Illinois Power Agency's 2026 procurement plan. That's roughly 20% above what national comparison sites advertise, and it's the number the state itself plans around. Your actual price still depends on system size, roof complexity, equipment, and how you pay — and with the federal residential credit gone for 2026 cash and loan purchases, the structure of the deal matters more than the sticker price. See the state's own cost figures, sourced and dated.

Yes. Illinois Shines — the state's Adjustable Block Program — opened its 2026–27 program year on June 1, 2026 with new capacity. For residential systems up to 10 kW AC it pays $80.77 per REC in ComEd territory and $70.37 in Ameren territory, to the Approved Vendor rather than direct to you, with half paid at energization and the rest ratably over the following six years. That value may reach you through lower project or power costs, depending on your agreement. See every Illinois incentive that still applies.

Yes — Illinois Shines adds $20 per REC for customer-owned projects. To qualify, the project has to be a Small DG system, be identified as customer-owned on the application, sit under a genuine ownership contract rather than a lease, and not receive a federal residential clean energy credit. That last condition used to force a trade-off. Since the federal residential credit expired at the end of 2025, a 2026 cash or loan buyer has no such credit to give up — so for most Illinois homeowners buying this year, the adder no longer costs anything to claim. Compare owning, leasing and a PPA over the full term.

It changed. Full retail net metering closed to new ComEd and Ameren residential customers at the end of 2024. Systems interconnected on or after January 1, 2025 earn supply-side credits for the power they export — Ameren also credits transmission — plus a one-time smart-inverter rebate, currently $300 per kilowatt for residential systems, and unused credits carry forward. The new math changes how a system should be sized, which is one reason the review is utility-specific. See how ComEd credits work today.

More than most pages tell you. The rebate is still $300 per kWh of storage, but since June 1, 2026 it comes with two separate commitments. First, you must agree to participate in ComEd's Scheduled Dispatch Virtual Power Plant program, which runs a five-year term. Second, ComEd's rebate terms require you to take supply under a qualifying ComEd product and keep doing so for the life of the energy storage facility — that second clock has no published end date. The battery is worth considering; the commitments are worth reading first. Read the ComEd virtual power plant terms in full.

If you don't know your bill, we estimate usage from your home's size and heat source using typical Illinois figures, then apply your utility's rate. It's a starting estimate — if you know your actual bill, that option gives a closer number.

Illinois program details, rates, and review steps differ by utility — ComEd is on the PJM grid and Ameren is on the MISO grid, and those two markets price capacity in completely different ways. REC prices differ between the two territories too. That's why the first question is which company serves your home.

Generally, no. Illinois' Homeowners' Energy Policy Statement Act (765 ILCS 165) voids outright association bans on rooftop solar and limits what boards can require, with deadlines and remedies written into the statute. Associations keep a say over process — not over whether. The main exception is a shared roof, where the statute stops applying. Read your full HOA solar rights in Illinois.

Heavy shade is one of the most common honest disqualifiers for rooftop solar. Depending on severity, the answer may be module-level equipment, selective trimming, or skipping rooftop panels entirely — our eligibility check routes heavily shaded homes toward community solar options instead. See when a shaded roof still works — and when it doesn't.

No. The Day Company is an independent Illinois information resource. We publish sourced rate and program data and run the eligibility check — we don't sell, design, install, or finance solar systems. If your home is a genuine fit and you schedule a review, an installation partner conducts it, and any agreement you sign would be with that company. We're paid a fee by that partner when a homeowner we refer goes ahead. The eligibility check never costs you anything. How we're compensated.

Four ways, each stated on this page and in our terms. We publish no savings, payback or ROI claims — only estimates you control and a review of your actual home. Your information goes to our review team and, only if you schedule a review, to one installation partner — never to a list of companies. Contact comes from real people who identify themselves, at a time you pick, and replying STOP ends it. And every rate and program figure carries the date it took effect, the date we last checked it, and a link to its public source, with re-checks scheduled around the June 1 and October 1 supply resets. We're not an installer: we're paid a fee by the installation partner when a homeowner we refer goes ahead, and the eligibility check is always free. How we make money and what we won't publish.

It's the number of unique visitors who started our eligibility check from an Illinois location during August 2026 — a completed calendar month, not a lifetime total. July, the month before, finished at 863. It does not count repeat visits by the same person, page views, or people who only used the calculator. We update it once a month, after the month closes, keep the underlying analytics on file, and publish this definition so you can judge the number for yourself. Most sites showing counts like this never tell you what they mean.