Solar Panels in Ann Arbor, MI: 2026 Cost, DTE Electric Net Metering & Savings

Ann Arbor and the bill

Ann Arbor is DTE for typical addresses. The city has discussed local programs. They are not a substitute for the DTE tariff unless a current written offer says so. Ann Arbor customers often care about the details and still get surprised by outflow credits. The resource matches Detroit more than it matches Arizona. Tree canopy in the Old West Side and Burns Park can erase a south roof. Township subdivisions are more open. Renters near campus do not own the roof. The 2025 EIA residential average for Michigan was 20.03 cents per kWh. That statewide figure is what our calculator uses. It is not the DTE Electric tariff. A rounded solar resource for this metro is about 4.0 peak sun hours a day.

Export credits and any SREC or REC

DTE Electric serves Ann Arbor. Newer residential projects at DTE Electric and Consumers Energy are generally credited under an inflow/outflow distributed-generation tariff, not a single statewide retail net-metering rate. The outflow price is whatever the current tariff says. Michigan does not have a homeowner SREC check this page can honestly quote. Snow cover and cloud cut winter production more than the difference between a 3.8 and a 4.0 sun-hour assumption.

Roofs, climate, permits, and HOAs

Older detached houses, some with slate or aging asphalt, and newer subdivision roofs outside the city core. Historic districts can limit street-facing placement. A Ann Arbor permit comes from the local building department, not from DTE Electric. An HOA can add its own review. This page does not quote a MI permit fee or an approval, because both depend on the address. Check shade and historic review. Use DTE's distributed generation tariff in the savings chart. If a local grant is mentioned, ask for the current application, not a 2021 blog.

Estimated cost range

Estimated cost range for Ann Arbor, labeled as an estimate and not a local quote: Berkeley Lab's August 2026 update put 2025 host-owned residential systems at about $3.60 per watt before incentives, about $3.00 per watt in the cash subset, and about $4.50 per watt in the loan subset. The median size in that set was 7.7 kW. Ann Arbor is about 4.0 peak sun hours a day, against about 3.8 statewide. The federal residential credit under 26 U.S.C. § 25D ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. The IRS treats that expenditure as made when the original installation is completed.

• Cash

  $3.00/W

  $23,100

  Subset classified as cash

• Middle published case

  $3.60/W

  $27,720

  All host-owned systems

• Loan

  $4.50/W

  $34,650

  Financed subset, before interest

Before incentives. A loan price here excludes interest. The federal residential credit under section 25D ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Berkeley Lab, U.S. Distributed Solar and Storage, August 2026 data update.