Solar panels in France
A 6 kWp system on a typical roof in France generates 7,025 kWh a year, worth €458 in the first year against €13,200 spent up front. Everything below shows how that is worked out, on real climate data and this year's actual tariffs.
Where the money comes from
6,955 kWh in year oneEvery kilowatt-hour your roof makes is worth one of two very different amounts. Power you use as it is generated replaces power you would have bought, so it is worth the full retail price. Power you do not use goes to the grid at the export rate, which is far lower. The balance between those two is what actually decides whether solar pays here.
- Used in the house
- 2,086 kWh (30% of output) at 0.194 EUR/kWh, the retail price you avoid paying.
- Sold to the grid
- 4,868 kWh (70% of output) at 0.011 EUR/kWh, the export rate your supplier pays.
Averaged out, each kilowatt-hour is worth 0.066 EUR/kWh. That blended figure, not the headline retail price, is what drives every number on this page. Using more of your own power (an EV, a heat pump, a battery, or simply running appliances by day) shifts output from the lavender side to the mint side and raises it.
A year on the roof
1,171 kWh per kWp · PVGIS-SARAH3Output is not spread evenly. July is the strongest month at 817 kWh, 2.7× what January manages at 298 kWh. Annual totals hide that swing, which is why a system sized purely on your yearly bill tends to overshoot in summer and undershoot in winter.
The 25-year picture
- Everything the system saves and earns
- €8,703
- What you pay up front
- − €13,200
- Still short by
- €4,497
25 years of avoided bills plus export payments, after maintenance and one inverter replacement.
Install cost, with no grant modelled.
The system does not earn back its cost within 25 years at these tariffs.
Same result, in today's money
-€7,997Because the savings never catch up with the outlay, discounting them at 4% a year only widens the gap, to -€7,997 in today's money. On these assumptions the system is a net cost over 25 years rather than an investment, and the equivalent annual return is -2.7%. Using far more of the power yourself, or a lower install price, is what turns this around.
When you break even
Your position starts at minus €13,200 on install day and climbs as the system earns. The line crossing zero is the payback point.
Cumulative cash position
No break-even within 25 yrsNet position after each year (−net capex up front, then cumulative savings). Crossing the dashed line is payback.
How that figure is built
No step here is a rule of thumb. Every one of them is the same code path the calculator runs on your own address.
Start with the weather, not a brochure
PVGIS-SARAH3 holds satellite-measured irradiance for this location. For a 6 kWp array at 35° facing south it works out to 1,171 kWh per kWp per year. That is the number a brochure would round up.
Scale it to the system
6 kWp × 1,171 kWh/kWp = 7,025 kWh a year. Panels lose about 1% in year one and 0.4% a year after, so year one is modelled at 6,955 kWh.
Price each kilowatt-hour twice
30% is used in the house at 0.194 EUR/kWh, the rest exported at 0.011 EUR/kWh. Together: €458 in year one.
Subtract what you actually hand over
A 6 kWp install in France runs about €13,200, with no grant modelled, so €13,200 out of pocket.
Run it for 25 years, honestly
Electricity prices rise 2% a year, panels keep degrading, maintenance costs about 1% of the system price annually, and the inverter gets replaced once. Total savings come to €8,703, which never quite catches the €13,200 you put in. On these assumptions the system does not pay for itself inside 25 years.
What we assumed for France
Change any of these and the answer changes. They are published so you can check them against your own bill and your own quote.
| System size modelled | 6 kWp at 35° facing south |
| Install cost before any grant | €13,200 |
| Grant or incentive | No capital grant -- prime a l'autoconsommation ABOLISHED by arrete tarifaire of 1 Jun 2026 (JORF 4 Jun 2026) |
| Net cost to you | €13,200 |
| Electricity price you avoid paying | 0.194 EUR/kWh |
| Export rate paid to you | 0.011 EUR/kWh |
| Share used in the house | 30% of output |
| Electricity price inflation | 2% a year |
| Panel degradation | 1% in year one, then 0.4% a year |
| Maintenance | 1% of system cost a year, plus one inverter replacement |
| Discount rate for present value | 4% a year, real |
| CO₂ avoided | 386 kg a year · 9,118 kg over 25 years |
Estimate only, not a quote. Tariffs and grants change; figures use the rates on file for 2026 and an installer's survey will produce the exact number.
Questions people ask about solar in France
- Is solar worth it in France?
- A 6 kWp system in France pays for itself in about more than 25 years and returns €8,703 of savings over 25 years against €13,200 spent up front. Your roof, orientation and shading move the result, which is what the calculator works out for your exact address.
- How much do solar panels cost in France?
- About €13,200 for a 6 kWp install, with no national grant modelled. Installers quote against your specific roof, so treat this as the middle of the range.
- What do you get paid for exporting solar power in France?
- Exports are modelled at 0.011 EUR/kWh against a retail import price of 0.194 EUR/kWh. Because exporting is worth much less than using the power yourself, how much you consume during daylight matters more than the size of the array.
Your roof is not the average roof
Orientation, pitch, shading and how much power you use by day move these numbers more than anything on this page. The calculator runs the same model on your actual address.
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Solar by city in France
Same model, run on each city's own climate data.
For the incentives, tariffs and the 2026 rule changes in detail, read our France solar guide.