Decision guide · India 2026
Installers sell generation. Your bank balance cares about rupees you still pay the DISCOM. Here is the yes / no / maybe map Sealix uses before anyone books a survey.
Last reviewed
Fast triage: Monthly bill under ₹1,000 (or free units already cover you) → usually no. ₹1,500–2,500 → maybe after shade and ownership checks. ₹3,000+ with a clear roof → usually yes, especially with up to ₹78,000 CFA. Not sure which band you are in? Check your bill.
Check if solar is worth it for my bill
| Typical monthly domestic bill | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under ₹1,000, or free-unit scheme already zeros the bill | Usually not worth it | There is little left to displace; payback stretches past sensible capital use |
| ₹1,000–1,500 | Weak / wait | Units are cheap; CFA helps cost but savings stay thin unless tariffs jump |
| ₹1,500–2,500 | Maybe | Run twelve months of bills, check free-unit cliffs, roof and NOC; size carefully |
| ₹2,500–4,000 | Usually yes | High-slab units disappear first; 3 kW often fits; CFA of ₹78,000 matters |
| ₹4,000+ | Strong yes (if roof allows) | Payback commonly under ~5 years after CFA; oversized plants still need daytime load |
Deeper bill pages: ₹1,500 bill · ₹3,000 bill · payback maths: costs & savings.
PM Surya Ghar pays ₹30,000 / ₹60,000 / ₹78,000 for eligible 1 / 2 / 3 kW+ residential plants after commissioning. A Lok Sabha reply (12 Aug 2026) restates the scheme’s planning assumption: recover the initial investment in about five years, then roughly twenty years of lower bills. That only holds if you were going to pay those bills. Subsidy cannot invent savings on a Gruha Jyothi or SC/ST free-unit connection that already reads zero.
National amounts: subsidy amount guide · Telangana (central only): Telangana solar subsidy · state top-ups elsewhere: state top-up map.
Indicative prices: 3 kW · 5 kW · loans: solar loans India.
For most grid-connected homes with a usable roof and a monthly domestic bill around ₹2,500 or more, yes — especially after PM Surya Ghar CFA of up to ₹78,000. The government estimates about five years to recover the initial investment, then roughly twenty years of bill savings. Below about ₹1,000–1,500 a month, or where free-unit schemes already zero the bill, solar is usually not worth buying now.
As a rule of thumb: under ₹1,000 a month — usually no; ₹1,500–2,500 — maybe, after checking free units, roof and shade; ₹3,000 and above — usually yes if the roof is clear and you own or control it. Solar removes your most expensive slab units first, so higher bills pay back faster even on the same plant size.
No. CFA of ₹30,000 / ₹60,000 / ₹78,000 for 1 / 2 / 3 kW cuts net cost, but it cannot create savings on a bill that is already near zero. Worth-it is bill × tariff × usable generation, not subsidy alone. You also fund the gross quote first; CFA arrives by DBT after commissioning.
When free electricity units already cover your consumption, when the roof is heavily shaded or you cannot get a society NOC, when you may sell the house soon, when you are a tenant without a durable agreement, or when a vendor quote is non-ALMM / non-DCR and would break the CFA path. In those cases waiting is cheaper than installing.
Related: Costs & savings · PM Surya Ghar · 3 kW price · Free electricity vs solar · Telangana subsidy
