Solar Atlas · Michigan
Is solar worth it in Detroit, MI?
A 7 kWdc rooftop array in Detroit makes about 9,034 kWh a year (NLR PVWatts, modeled) and pays back in 17.5 years at DTE Electric Company’s 21.7¢/kWh residential rate (Aug 2025–Jul 2026), with no federal credit. Exports follow DTE Distributed Generation (Rider 18 inflow/outflow).
42.33°N · 8.9–15.1 h daylight · site signature
- Production
- 1,291 kWh per kWdc per year · capacity factor 14.7% AC
- Residential rate
- 21.7¢/kWh · DTE Electric Company
- Exported solar
- DTE Distributed Generation (Rider 18 inflow/outflow) · 10.59¢/kWh
- Climate
- hot-summer humid continental (Köppen Dfa) · 10.3 °C mean, 872 mm/yr
Source: NLR PVWatts v8.5.0 (NSRDB PSM V3 GOES tmy-2020 3.2.0) — 1 kW, tilt 20°, azimuth 180°, roof mount, 14% losses · fetched 2026-09-24 · modeled, not metered
Source: EIA-861M utility average · Aug 2025–Jul 2026 · EIA Michigan average Jan–Jul 2026 21.5¢ · utility’s EIA-861 2024 average 20.1¢
DTE Electric Company customers who buy supply from a competitive supplier or community choice aggregator pay delivery plus their supplier’s price; the average shown is the utility’s default (bundled) service.
DTE Electric Company added for this ZIP: EIA-861 2024 Service Territory lists only DTE Electric Company and Wyandotte Municipal Services Commission in Wayne County, MI; the OEDI file lists Wyandotte only for ZIPs 48146, 48192, 48193 and 48195. These ten downtown/central Detroit ZCTAs (wholly in Wayne County per the Census 2020 ZCTA–county relationship file) therefore fall in DTE Electric territory.
Source: DTE Electric full-service residential customers on the default D1.11 Standard Time-of-Day rate with Rider 18 distributed generation · checked 2026-09-25
Source: NOAA NCEI Climate Normals 1991–2020, DETROIT METRO AP, MI US (25.6 km away) · fetched 2026-09-24
No federal credit: the homeowner credit (§25D) ended for systems installed after 2025-12-31. A lease or PPA price may reflect the lessor’s §48E credit. 26 U.S.C. §25D(h) and (e)(8)(A) · policy as of 2026-09-24
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Your exact roof, or a business
The payback calculator runs hourly PVWatts at your address. The Modeler opens a grid-tied home at Detroit. A business goes to the Quote Studio with the 15.0¢/kWh commercial rate.