Solar on a Jodhpur Rooftop

Jodhpur has about as much sun as anywhere in India, so rooftop solar here should work better than almost anywhere else. It generally does. But the payback figures being advertised — some as low as two and a half years — rest on an assumption that quietly does not hold, and it is worth understanding before you sign anything.

What a system costs

Installed cost before subsidy runs roughly ₹60,000 to ₹70,000 per kW for a 3 to 5 kW system, with smaller 1 kW systems costing more per kW — around ₹75,000 to ₹85,000 — because labour, transport and documentation do not scale down.

For a 5 kW system the cost splits roughly into panels ₹90,000–1,10,000, inverter ₹35,000–55,000, mounting structure and balance of system ₹40,000–60,000, and installation and documentation ₹20,000–30,000. Note that quoted prices vary depending on whether GST is included — check which you are being shown.

The subsidy

Under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, central financial assistance is structured as:

• Up to 2 kW: ₹30,000 per kW, so a maximum of ₹60,000
• The third kW: ₹18,000, taking a 3 kW system to ₹78,000
• Above 3 kW: capped at ₹78,000 — no further central subsidy

That cap is the reason 3 kW is the most common residential size. Going to 5 kW costs you the full extra amount with no additional support.

Eligibility requires a valid DISCOM consumer number, ownership or usage rights over the roof, ALMM-listed modules with an MNRE-compliant inverter, and installation through a vendor registered on the scheme portal. The scheme is running — by March 2026 there had been over 26 lakh installations nationally, with Rajasthan accounting for about 1.6 lakh of them, fifth among states.

How much Jodhpur sun is worth

Western Rajasthan has among the highest solar irradiance in India. A reasonable expectation is 1,700 to 1,870 kWh per kW per year — roughly 4.7 to 5.1 units per day per kW installed. So a 3 kW system should produce somewhere around 5,100 to 5,600 units a year.

One local caveat that matters more here than almost anywhere: dust. Accumulation can cut output by 10 to 20 per cent, and dust storms are a normal feature of western Rajasthan. Regular cleaning is not optional maintenance — it is the difference between the generation figures above and something materially lower. Budget for cleaning several times a year.

The part most payback claims get wrong

Here is the thing to understand before you look at any savings estimate.

Electricity you generate and use yourself saves you the retail tariff. In Jodhpur, domestic slabs run about ₹3.00 per unit for the first 50 units, rising through ₹6.00 for 151–300 units and ₹7.25 for 301–500, to ₹8.50 above 500 — plus a fixed charge and electricity duty. So self-consumed solar in a high-usage household displaces electricity worth ₹7–8.50 a unit.

Electricity you export to the grid earns you the net metering rate, which Rajasthan revised in October 2025 to ₹3.26 per unit (net billing, ₹3.65).

That is a gap of roughly two and a half times. And it means your payback depends almost entirely on when you use electricity, not just how much you generate. A household where everyone is out all day, exporting most of its midday generation and buying back power in the evening, earns ₹3.26 and pays ₹7.25. A household with daytime occupancy, a daytime-run pump, or air conditioning in the afternoon does far better.

Almost every published payback figure we found assumes retail-rate offset for all generation. That assumption overstates returns for most households, and it is why the advertised numbers are so short.

A realistic payback

Published claims for Rajasthan range from about 2.6 years to 7. Our honest reading is 4 to 6 years for a typical household, with faster payback for high-consumption homes in the upper tariff slabs that use a good share of their generation during the day, and slower for modest consumers who export most of it.

Two costs are usually left out of the optimistic figures:

• Inverter replacement at 10 to 15 years, around ₹20,000–40,000. Panels last 25 to 30 years; the inverter does not. One replacement cycle over the system's life is normal and should be in your arithmetic.
• Maintenance and cleaning, on the order of ₹3,000 a year for a 5 kW residential system.

Even at 5 to 6 years, against a 25-year panel life with degradation of only about 0.3 to 0.45 per cent a year, this remains a good investment. It just is not a two-year one.

Rules worth knowing

• System size is capped at your sanctioned load — you cannot install 10 kW against a 3 kW connection. Minimum size is above 1 kW.
• Net metering is the default for new residential consumers; net billing is available as an alternative if you would rather sell all generation.
• Unadjusted credits are paid out. For domestic net-metering consumers, credits left unused at 31 March are paid in cash by the DISCOM in the first month of the next financial year. Non-domestic consumers' surplus lapses.
• Approval and interconnection typically take 30 to 60 days.

If you are building now

It is considerably cheaper to prepare for solar during construction than to retrofit. Worth doing even if you install later:

• Keep a shadow-free area on the roof — around 350–400 sq ft for a 5 kW system — and plan water tanks, stair headroom and parapets so they do not shade it.
• Design the slab for the extra load. A 5 kW array with its structure is around 350–400 kg distributed.
• Run conduit from roof to meter position during construction. Retrofitting cabling through a finished house is disproportionately disruptive.
• Provide a ventilated, shaded location for the inverter — heat shortens its life, and Jodhpur summers are unforgiving.
• Ensure safe roof access for the cleaning you will be doing regularly.

Questions to ask an installer

1. Are the modules ALMM-listed and is the inverter MNRE-compliant? Without both, no subsidy.
2. Are you registered on the PM Surya Ghar portal?
3. Is the quoted price inclusive of GST, and does it assume the subsidy has been deducted?
4. What annual generation are you projecting, and at what assumed units per kW?
5. What does your savings estimate assume about self-consumption versus export?
6. What are the product and performance warranties, separately, for panels and inverter?
7. Who handles the net metering application and how long does it take?
8. What is included in maintenance, for how long, and what does cleaning cost afterwards?

Question five is the one that separates a serious quotation from a sales pitch.