Residential · Winnebago County · 2026
21 kW on a rural ranch home, and what it cost the owner.
The system
| Size | 21.2 kW DC, 36 modules |
| Modules | Phono Solar Draco N-TopCon, 590 W |
| Inverters | Two Fronius Primo GEN24, 10 kW and 6 kW |
| First-year production | 28,749 kWh |
| Household annual use | 18,677 kWh |
| Offset | About 154% of consumption |
What made it interesting
The property runs power from the house out to a separate shed, and the array was split across both. Rather than force one inverter to serve a layout it wasn't built for, we designed around the existing feed. One inverter interconnects through the house-to-shed run, one at the garage meter location, both on the same utility account.
A decision like that never shows up in a price comparison, and it decides whether the system works for the next twenty-five years.
The job also included a 200-amp service meter pedestal and a new main service panel, because the existing service could not carry the array. That is why the invoice is larger than the solar line, and it is the sort of thing a cheaper quote discovers after you have signed.
The money
| Solar system | $48,906 |
| Program fee and collateral | $2,334 |
| Service meter and main panel | $4,150 |
| Total paid | $55,391 |
| Illinois Shines, net of fees | $34,237 |
| ComEd distributed generation rebate | $6,372 |
| Returned through incentives | $40,609 |
| Estimated annual electricity saving | $3,265 – $3,415 |
How the money came back
About $14,100 within months of energisation, then roughly $839 every quarter, with a further $3,021 of collateral released at year 15. The owner paid the full amount up front and the programme returned it on that schedule.
Warranty: 25 years on the modules, 25 on the installation, 12 on the inverters, and a 25-year leak-free guarantee on every penetration.
Send us the bill and the address.
We'll tell you what a system this size would cost at today's prices, what comes back, and when. If your roof isn't a fit, you'll hear that first.
Tell us what you need
We'll tell you if your roof isn't a fit. That happens, and you should hear it before anyone designs you a system.