Los Angeles County · BWP
Solar Panel Installation in Burbank, CA
Burbank Water & Power has some of the lowest residential rates in the region, so an oversized array here exports power for less than it is worth to you. Right-sizing is the whole game.
We are based in Northridge, 12 miles away, and we design Burbank systems around Burbank Water & Power’s actual rate structure rather than a national average. Permits go through City of Burbank Building Division. Roofs here are typically composition shingle and spanish tile, which determines the mounting hardware we quote.
Burbank at a glance
- Electric utility
- BWP
- Burbank Water & Power
- Peak sun hours
- 5.6 hrs/day
- Annual daily average
- Permitting authority
- City of Burbank Building Division
- Los Angeles County
- Export credit
- ~$0.19/kWh
- BWP net energy metering
- SGIP battery rebate
- Not available
- Municipal utility territory
- From our shop
- 12 miles
- Northridge, CA
A typical Burbank project
What a $300 bill looks like after
Modeled on BWP’s approximate $0.22 per kWh and 5.6 peak sun hours a day in Burbank. Your own numbers will differ — this is the shape of the answer, not a quote.
- System size
- 10.1 kW
- ~23 panels
- Annual production
- 16,548 kWh
- after standard derating
- Annual savings
- $3,581
- at today's rates
- Simple payback
- 13.0 yrs
- $102,293 over 25 years
BWP in plain language
One of the lowest residential rates in the region, which makes right-sizing critical — an oversized array in Burbank exports power for less than it is worth to you.
You buy at
$0.27
peak, 4–9pm
You sell at
$0.19
exported surplus
That narrow gap is why solar alone still performs well in Burbank. A battery here earns its keep through outage protection rather than rate arbitrage, and we will tell you honestly which one you are buying.
Run your own numbers
Pre-set for Burbank
Already loaded with BWP rates and 5.6 peak sun hours. Move the slider to your bill.
Step 1
Step 2
Who bills you?
Step 3
Your estimate
A Burbank system
System size
10.6 kW
~24 panels
Saved per year
$3,737
at today's rates
Estimated cost
$63,258
solar + storage, installed
Payback
16.9 yrs
$91,891 over 25 yrs
A different calculation. BWP is a municipal utility, so it sets its own rules and still credits exports near retail — about $0.19 per kilowatt-hour. Solar alone performs well here. A battery is worth buying for outage protection rather than for rate arbitrage, and BWP customers are not eligible for SGIP.
Show the assumptions
Usage derived from $320/mo at BWP’s ~$0.22/kWh blended rate, giving 17,455 kWh a year.
Production at 5.6 peak sun hours a day with a 0.80 derate for inverter, wiring, soiling and heat losses: 17,268 kWh a year.
Self-consumption assumed at 88% of production; the remainder is exported at $0.19/kWh.
25-year figure compounds utility rates at 4.5% a year and degrades panel output 0.5% a year, net of system cost. Planning estimate only, not a quote.
Also in Burbank
More than panels
Neighborhoods we cover in Burbank
Magnolia Park · Rancho District · Burbank Hills · Media District · and everywhere in between.
Burbank questions
Answered with local numbers
Specific to Burbank, BWP, and City of Burbank Building Division.
How much does solar cost in Burbank?
A typical Burbank home paying around $300 a month to BWP needs roughly a 10.1 kW system, which lands near $30,866 installed before storage. Adding the 13.5 kWh battery we would normally pair with it brings the project to about $46,391. Roof type matters here: composition shingle and spanish tile is what we mostly see in Burbank, and that affects mounting hardware and labor.
Is solar worth it in Burbank with BWP?
One of the lowest residential rates in the region, which makes right-sizing critical — an oversized array in Burbank exports power for less than it is worth to you. At 5.6 peak sun hours a day, a 10.1 kW array in Burbank produces roughly 16,548 kWh a year. Against BWP's approximate $0.22 per kWh, that is around $3,581 of annual value, putting simple payback near 13.0 years.
Who issues solar permits in Burbank?
Permits for Burbank go through City of Burbank Building Division, and interconnection is handled separately by Burbank Water & Power. Those are two different clocks and they do not run in parallel by default. We file both and chase the corrections, which is usually where projects stall when homeowners manage it themselves.
Do you install batteries in Burbank?
Yes. Note that Burbank is served by Burbank Water & Power, a municipal utility, so SGIP rebates are not available — that program is funded by investor-owned utility ratepayers. BWP still credits exports near retail at roughly $0.19 per kWh, so in Burbank a battery is primarily about outage protection rather than rate arbitrage.
How far is Burbank from your Northridge shop?
About 12 miles. That is comfortably inside our core service area, so surveys and service calls are quick to schedule.
Nearby
We also serve
Ready for a Burbank system design?
Send us one BWP bill. We will come back with a layout, a production model, and a real number.