Sources
Every important number should have a source or be clearly labeled as a planning assumption. SolarCalcNow prioritizes transparent gross estimates over unverified net-cost claims.
Source stack
State residential electricity rate assumptions.
National electricity price context.
Reference calculator for PV production assumptions and user-facing solar production context.
Server-side ZIP/PVWatts production estimates when PVWATTS_API_KEY is configured.
State, utility, and local incentive verification before incentives are used in net-cost math.
Solar equipment category context, quote-readiness questions, storage planning, and homeowner caution copy.
Neutral PV system component context for modules, inverters, storage, and mounting.
Federal residential clean energy credit status review.
Market benchmark context for installed cost ranges.
Source update cadence
Solar assumptions can go stale quickly. These review rules keep source updates explicit before rates, production, incentives, or localized claims are used in estimates.
Source freshness changelog
2026-07-22
Migrated the calculator, API documentation, and server endpoint from retired NREL hosts to the current NLR domains.
Public source links resolve again, and the optional ZIP-level provider is ready for the current API host without changing fallback behavior.
2026-07-16
Made direct solar use, export allocation, annual energy-charge cap, panel degradation, and battery conversion losses explicit in the planning models.
Savings and backup results are more conservative and auditable; legacy report URLs and saved scenarios keep working through schema defaults.
2026-07-10
Added a time-sensitive official status update after the Maryland Energy Administration confirmed FY2026 Bridge Fund applications are closed to new applicants.
The update is review-only and excluded from all net-cost and payback calculations because the program is closed and eligibility is highly specific.
2026-07-10
Refreshed all 12 supported state residential planning rates from EIA Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A April 2026 release.
Calculator and state planning pages now use April 2026 EIA preliminary residential prices; no incentive or net-cost treatment changed.
2026-07-03
Quarterly review against EIA Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A March 2026 release.
No state residential rate changes applied; cadence dates updated on /sources.
2026-06-29
Added typed source cadence for solar equipment category and future product records.
Equipment product pages stay unpublished until datasheet, warranty, source-review, and disclosure fields pass.
2026-06-27
Added a source gate for future utility, city, and expanded state pages.
Broad local pages stay out of the sitemap until rate, export-value, incentive, confidence, and review-date fields exist.
2026-06-28
Added typed gates for future utility tariff and battery program records.
Future utility or battery records stay unpublished until source, review, confidence, fallback, and eligibility fields pass.
2026-06-27
Confirmed PVWatts source naming and URLs on the current NREL domain.
The public source page points users to the live NREL calculator and NREL API documentation.
2026-06-25
Moved federal credit language to reviewed IRS source status and conservative no-tax-advice wording.
New 2026 estimates avoid unsupported federal-credit net-cost claims.
2026-06-24
Added recurring review cadence for rates, production assumptions, incentives, cost benchmarks, and localized copy.
Source-sensitive claims have an auditable owner workflow before automation is added.
Use the source list to understand the assumptions, then generate an estimate and compare any quote against the same baseline.