About PV Yield
PV Yield is a practical solar investment calculator for early photovoltaic project screening.
The tool helps homeowners, installers, consultants, and small commercial project teams estimate generation, cashflow, payback, internal rate of return, net present value, levelized cost of electricity, system losses, and monthly revenue. It is designed for early comparison before a formal engineering design, utility interconnection study, tax review, or lender model.
PV Yield supports country and city lookup, coordinate-based weather estimates, custom monthly POA weather uploads, multiple currencies, basic debt assumptions, degradation, operation and maintenance cost, tax assumptions, and loss presets. The model emphasizes transparency: every result should be traceable to a user input or documented assumption.
Who the calculator is for
- Residential owners comparing rooftop solar offers.
- Installers preparing early financial screening for customers.
- Commercial site owners comparing self-consumption and export revenue.
- Students and analysts learning how solar cashflow metrics work.
What makes the estimate useful
A solar return estimate is only useful when the assumptions are visible. PV Yield keeps the key drivers close to the result: capacity, installed cost, self-consumption, export value, irradiation, loss factors, degradation, operating cost, tax, discount rate, and loan terms. Users can change these assumptions and compare the effect on payback, IRR, NPV, and LCOE instead of relying on a single optimistic number.
The calculator also separates energy production from financial value. This helps users see whether a weak result is caused by poor solar resource, high installation cost, low self-use, low export compensation, or financing assumptions. That separation is important when comparing quotes from different installers or when checking whether a project needs more detailed review.
Important limitation
PV Yield is not a replacement for professional design software, legal advice, tax advice, or a bank-grade financial model. Local tariffs, incentives, tax treatment, interconnection rules, shading, roof structure, equipment warranties, and financing terms should be checked with qualified local professionals before any investment decision.