Summit blog · policy + field notes
What changed in the source record
Ongoing policy changes, source updates, and editorial notes live here. Evergreen reference content stays on the state hubs and topic pages.
- 01 illinois How Smart Solar Billing Changed the Math for ComEd Customers in Illinois ComEd solar can still pencil in 2026, but the old shortcut no longer works. Smart Solar Billing separates instant self-consumption from lower-value net exports, so system sizing and export assumptions matter more than they did under retail net metering. →
- 02 wisconsin Wisconsin Solar with We Energies: Why Avoided-Cost Net Metering Is Not the Same as Retail We Energies solar economics depend on self-consumption, not a retail-rate export promise. Net exports are credited near avoided cost, so batteries, load shifting, and system sizing change the answer for Milwaukee-area suburbs. →
- 03 buyer-guide How to Read a Solar Quote in 2026: The Cash $/W, Dealer Fees, and Line Items That Actually Matter A 2026 solar quote should be read backward from the real cash price, not from the financed payment. The missing federal residential credit makes dealer fees, equipment line items, export rules, and dispute rights harder to ignore. →
- 04 buyer-guide Solar permitting timelines in 2026: from contract signing to permission to operate A normal residential solar project still takes weeks after the contract is signed. Site assessment, design, permits, installation, utility interconnection, inspection, and PTO are separate steps, and the system is not operating until the utility grants permission to operate. →
- 05 buyer-guide Solar warranty terms in 2026: what 25 years actually covers A 25-year solar warranty is usually not one warranty. Panels, inverters, workmanship, production estimates, and financing rights all sit in different documents, and the strongest contract is the one that makes those boundaries visible before signing. →
- 06 buyer-guide Solar and your roof: when to install, when to wait, and what removal-and-reinstall actually costs Roof age is one of the simplest solar qualifiers. A clean roof can support a 25-year system. An aging roof can turn a good quote into an avoidable removal-and-reinstall project only a few years after PTO. →
- 07 buyer-guide Solar HOA disputes: state solar-rights statutes and what they actually protect State solar-rights laws usually protect the right to install solar, not the right to ignore every architectural rule. The practical path is a complete ARC submission, a statute-aware response window, and a written record of any denial or requested change. →
- 08 buyer-guide Solar in 2026 for renters and non-roof owners: PPAs, community solar, and what does not work Renters and non-roof owners have solar options, but rooftop ownership is usually not one of them. Community solar can fit in Illinois, Colorado, and Oregon. Rooftop PPAs usually require the person signing to control the roof. →
- 09 buyer-guide Solar production monitoring in 2026: what to ask about, what to skip Solar monitoring is useful when it proves the system is producing, catches failures early, and survives installer turnover. The rest is interface detail. The better question is not which app looks best on day one, but who controls the data in year eight. →
- 10 buyer-guide How solar installers actually size a residential system in 2026 Solar sizing starts with production targets, not panel count. In 2026, the right target depends on historical usage, future EV or heat-pump load, and whether the utility credits exports at retail, supply, or avoided-cost rates. →
- 11 buyer-guide Solar loans and your credit: what the application actually does Solar loan paperwork can affect credit before and after installation. The important distinctions are hard pull versus prequalification, equipment lien versus property lien, loan owner versus servicer, and how the payment fits into future debt-to-income review. →
- 12 editorial Why Summit doesn't cover Ohio or Michigan in 2026 (yet) Ohio and Michigan are real solar markets, but they are not interchangeable with Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado, or Oregon. Summit is holding scope to states where utility tariffs, incentives, city-level permitting, and consumer-protection context have been built deeply enough to support useful advice. →
- 13 buyer-guide Should you install solar in spring or fall? What the data actually says The best season for solar is less about catching one more sunny month and more about queue position. Spring and fall can both work, but off-season scheduling often produces faster permits, shorter interconnection waits, and cleaner contractor attention. →
- 14 buyer-guide Five solar myths that survived the federal credit expiration in 2026 The federal homeowner credit expired, but several older solar claims kept circulating. Five of them cause most of the confusion: five-year payback, equal export credits, guaranteed pre-sale payoff, production guarantees, and a fixed home-value premium. →
- 15 buyer-guide Solar batteries in 2026: when pairing pencils and when it does not A battery is a separate financial decision from the solar panels themselves. The case is strongest where the utility credits exports below the retail rate, and weakest where solar already earns retail-rate credit on every exported kilowatt-hour. →
- 16 buyer-guide EVs and solar in 2026: sizing for an electric driveway An EV in the driveway changes the solar sizing answer. The right system depends less on the current bill and more on the expected charging load, the time of day the car charges, and what the local utility credits for exported solar. →
- 17 buyer-guide Solar loans, leases, and cash in 2026: three different deals, three different math problems The three ways to pay for residential solar in 2026 are not variations on a theme. Cash, loan, and lease each produce a different bill, a different tax treatment, and a different ownership question. The right comparison runs all three side by side at the quote stage. →
- 18 buyer-guide Solar inverters in 2026: microinverter vs string, what the trade-off actually is The inverter is the part of the solar system that fails first and matters most. The choice between microinverter and string inverter is a real architectural decision with different cost, monitoring, and warranty implications. →
- 19 buyer-guide Solar and home resale in 2026: what the data actually says about value A residential solar install adds value at sale. The size of that value, and whether buyers price it consistently, depends on ownership structure, system age, and local market conditions. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has tracked this for over a decade. →
- 20 buyer-guide Solar maintenance in 2026: what a residential system actually needs Residential solar requires less maintenance than most homeowners expect, but it is not zero-maintenance. The actual long-run cost is small and predictable when the install was done well, larger and unpredictable when it was not. →
- 21 Property Tax Property tax and solar: a state-by-state primer for 2026 Most states exempt residential solar from property-tax assessment, but the structures and sunset dates vary. Oregon's exemption sunsets July 1, 2029 under ORS 307.175. Colorado, Illinois, and Wisconsin each apply different mechanisms with different durability. Here is what to verify before treating the exemption as a fixed input in payback math. →
- 22 Net Metering How utility net metering rules actually shape your solar payback Net metering compensation is the single most important determinant of residential solar payback after correct sizing. The difference between retail-rate net metering and avoided-cost buy-back can shift cash payback by three to five years on the same physical install. Here is how the four regimes work, and what to verify before signing. →
- 23 Illinois Is solar worth it in Illinois in 2026? Yes, for the qualifying profile on ComEd Smart Solar Billing or Ameren Rider NMOS. Illinois Shines RECs continue to layer on top of utility compensation. The January 1, 2025 Smart Solar Billing transition changed the math for new installs more than the federal credit expiration did. Here is the diagnostic. →
- 24 Oregon Is solar worth it in Oregon in 2026? Yes, for the qualifying profile in PGE or Pacific Power territory. Oregon residential solar pairs standard net metering with a $2,500 Energy Trust of Oregon rebate and a state property-tax exemption that sunsets July 1, 2029 under ORS 307.175. The 2029 sunset reshapes how this decision should be timed. →
- 25 Wisconsin Is solar worth it in Wisconsin in 2026? Yes, for a tighter qualifying profile than other states. Wisconsin solar economics live or die on self-consumption: We Energies credits exports at an avoided-cost rate near 4.2 cents per kWh, well below retail. Battery pairing and Focus on Energy rebates (deadline August 31, 2026) change the answer materially. →
- 26 Colorado Is solar worth it in Colorado in 2026? Yes, for the qualifying Front Range profile. Colorado has unusually strong solar physics, Xcel layers a production payment on top of standard net metering, and a state property-tax exemption survives despite the federal credit gap. Here is what the math actually looks like in 2026. →
- 27 2026 Primer Is solar still worth it in 2026 after the 30% federal credit expired? Yes, for the qualifying profile. The Section 25D credit ended December 31, 2025, but the underlying economics, production, electricity rates, system life, still favor a 7 to 12 year cash payback on the right house. Here is how the math actually changed. →