Solar panels in Casper, WY

Roofs in Casper get about 1,693 hours of usable sunlight a year — more than 73% of the cities we've measured. Here's what that means in cost, savings and payback, using real rooftop data rather than a national average.

Check your specific roof in Casper → City averages are a starting point; your own roof's size, pitch and shading change the answer a lot.

What a typical Casper solar system costs

A 19-panel system (7.6 kW) is about right for an average Casper home using 10,800 kWh a year. It would produce roughly 10,937 kWh annually and offset 100% of that usage.

How we worked this out for Casper

Every number on this page comes from these seven steps. Nothing is a national average — the sunlight figure is measured from Casper rooftops.

Step 6 matters more than it looks. Only 35% of what a system this size produces in Casper is used the moment it is generated; the other 7,157 kWh is exported and credited one-for-one under net metering. Because exports here are credited at or near retail, that split changes the payback very little — 11.5 years against the 11.6 we show. In places where exports pay a fraction of retail the same split moves payback by years, which is why we model it explicitly rather than assuming.

Assumptions: 400W panels, 15% system losses (inverter, wiring, heat, soiling), $2.85/W installed, 10,800 kWh typical annual household use, 12.1¢/kWh electricity. Change any of those and every figure above moves — which is exactly why a single national "solar costs X" number is misleading.

Notice that payback barely improves as systems get bigger, and eventually gets worse. That's because you can only save money on electricity you were going to buy anyway. Once a system covers your usage, extra panels mostly generate exports at a much lower rate.

Why Casper gets 1,693 sun hours

That figure comes from Google's analysis of real rooftops across Casper — it already accounts for shading from trees, chimneys and neighbouring buildings, which is why it's lower than the raw "hours of daylight" figures you'll see elsewhere. An unusually open, unshaded roof in Casper reaches about 1,810 hours, roughly 7% better than typical.

The numbers behind this page

When Casper actually produces

Annual totals hide the thing that catches people out: 37% of Casper's yearly sunlight arrives in May–July, and just 12% across November–January.

Casper produces about 3.5× as much in Jun as in Dec — a normal mid-latitude swing. Expect real winter shortfall and summer surplus rather than steady year-round output.

The annual total is measured from Google's rooftop imagery. Its split across months is calculated from solar geometry at Casper's latitude, not separately measured, so treat the monthly figures as the shape of a typical year rather than a forecast.

How Casper compares to the other 788 cities

What actually stands out about Casper:

• Plenty of roof to work with. Typical roofs here fit around 196 panels — roughly 10× what an average home needs. Roof size will not be what limits your system in Casper.
• Large roofs. At a median of 564 m², Casper has the 4th-largest typical roof footprint we've measured.
• Cheap electricity is the headwind. Wyoming power costs about 12.1¢/kWh. Low rates are good news generally, but they lengthen solar payback — there is simply less bill to displace.
• Older imagery. Google's aerial capture of Casper dates from 2019. Tree growth and new construction since then are not reflected.

Cities with almost the same sunlight

These are the closest matches to Casper's 1,693 usable sun hours from other states and provinces. Same sunlight, different electricity prices — which is usually what decides whether solar is worth it.

Nearby cities

See all of Wyoming → statewide sunlight, rates, incentives and every city we've measured.

Casper solar questions

Worth reading before you buy

Estimates only, generated 2026-08-22 from Google Solar API rooftop samples and average Wyoming electricity rates. Not a quote and not financial advice. Your roof, usage, utility plan and local incentives will change these numbers — get real quotes before buying.