Fort Lauderdale Solar in 2026: FPL Net Metering and HVHZ Roof Rules

By SolarFY Editor, the MySolarFY editorial team · Reviewed August 13, 2026 · How we source our data

Fort Lauderdale has the sun, the year-round cooling bills, and a net-metering deal that still makes rooftop solar pay, so the real question is not whether solar works here but what it costs and what is different about doing it in Broward County. Two things set Fort Lauderdale apart. Your power comes from Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest utility, and your roof sits in Broward County, which the Florida Building Code places in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone alongside Miami-Dade. That second fact changes the hardware on your roof, the paperwork, and who is allowed to install it, though Broward’s design wind speeds run a step below Miami-Dade’s. This page covers what solar costs in Fort Lauderdale, how FPL credits your power, which Florida incentives still apply in 2026, and the hurricane-zone roofing rules that make a Broward install its own thing.

Why solar in Fort Lauderdale is different: the Broward hurricane zone

Fort Lauderdale’s one big difference is the roof: Broward County sits in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, so your solar racking must be engineered and product-approved for hurricane wind loads.

The thing that makes a Fort Lauderdale install different from most of Florida is that Broward County is in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. The HVHZ is a special part of the Florida Building Code, written after Hurricane Andrew, that covers only Miami-Dade and Broward Counties and carries some of the strictest wind-load rules in the country (Florida Building Commission, and Florida Building Code, Section 1620, as of 2026). In practice that means two things for your solar project. First, the racking and roof attachments have to be engineered to resist the design wind pressures for your specific roof, so a Fort Lauderdale array is bolted down to a tougher standard than one in Orlando or Jacksonville. Second, the mounting hardware usually needs a Florida Product Approval or a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance before it can go on your roof.

Here is the Broward-specific wrinkle that separates Fort Lauderdale from Miami: the design wind speeds are a notch lower. The Florida Building Code sets Broward’s HVHZ wind velocity for a typical home (Risk Category II) at 170 mph, versus 175 mph in Miami-Dade, with a similar 5 to 6 mph gap in the other risk categories (Florida Building Code, Section 1620, as of 2026). It is still a hurricane-zone standard far above the rest of the state, but it is not identical to a Miami install, so the engineered attachment your installer designs is sized to Broward’s numbers, not Miami-Dade’s. The exact wind-load figures are roof-specific, set by a Florida-licensed engineer and the Broward or city reviewer, so treat any installer who waves the question away as a red flag.

This is a good thing for a hurricane-prone home, but it narrows who should install your system. A properly engineered, product-approved array is designed to stay on the roof through a major storm, which protects both your investment and your roof. It also means the cheapest out-of-town bid is not always a legal one here: the installer has to use HVHZ-approved components and pull the right Broward County or City of Fort Lauderdale permit. When you compare quotes, ask each installer to confirm the racking carries a current Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade NOA and that a Florida-licensed engineer is sizing the attachment to your roof’s wind zone.

What solar costs in Fort Lauderdale, and what your roof makes

Solar pays in Fort Lauderdale because of the sunshine and the size of the cooling bill it offsets. Florida’s average residential electricity price is about 15.4 cents per kWh (EIA retail sales, residential Florida, as of April 2026), close to the national average, but Fort Lauderdale homes run air conditioning for most of the year, so the yearly bill is large in absolute dollars. Every kilowatt-hour your roof makes offsets one you would otherwise buy from FPL at that rate.

Fort Lauderdale’s sun turns that rate into strong production. According to MySolarFY’s analysis (as of August 2026), a typical 6 kW rooftop system in Fort Lauderdale is modeled to produce about 9,508 kWh a year on a live NREL PVWatts run for ZIP 33301 (NREL PVWatts v8, using NSRDB typical-year data). That is a strong number, and slightly higher than the same system modeled a few miles south in Miami, though it is a model, not a measurement of your specific roof, so pitch, orientation, and shading from trees or a taller neighbor will move it up or down. Run your own address on NREL’s free PVWatts calculator before you size a system.

Here is our own estimate for a representative Fort Lauderdale home on FPL net metering. The table below is an original MySolarFY calculation, not a figure lifted from another site. It uses a 6 kW system producing about 9,508 kWh a year (the live PVWatts figure above), FPL’s roughly 15.4-cent retail rate for the power your solar offsets, and FPL’s retail-rate net-metering credit for what you export, so on-site use and exports are worth close to the same. It assumes typical 2026 cash pricing near $3.00 per watt installed, about $18,000 before the Florida sales-tax exemption, and it assumes no federal tax credit, because the homeowner credit ended after December 31, 2025. Your real numbers depend on your roof, your usage, and your rate, so treat this as an estimate and get a written quote. For how these figures line up with what solar costs across Florida, see our statewide cost breakdown.

Scenario (6 kW, Fort Lauderdale, FPL net metering)	Estimated cash cost, before incentives	How your solar is valued	Estimated first-year bill savings	Estimated simple payback
Solar only, no battery	About $18,000 before the Florida sales-tax exemption	Production offsets your bill at FPL’s roughly 15.4-cent retail rate, on-site or exported under retail net metering	About $1,350 to $1,450	About 12 to 13 years
Solar plus a battery (about 13 kWh)	About $31,000 before the sales-tax exemption	Same retail bill offset, plus backup power during a hurricane outage	About $1,450	Longer payback, plus storm resilience and larger lifetime savings

How we derived first-year savings (a MySolarFY computed estimate, as of August 2026): we value the power your solar offsets at FPL’s Florida residential rate near 15.4 cents per kWh (EIA, as of April 2026). The math is roughly 9,508 kWh a year times about 15.4 cents, or about $1,460 of gross energy value, minus the fixed customer charge and taxes that net metering does not offset, which lands near $1,350 to $1,450. Because Florida net metering credits exports at the retail rate, the split between power you use on site and power you export barely changes the bill math. The battery row’s annual savings barely move, because FPL already credits exports at retail, so a battery in Fort Lauderdale is mostly about keeping power on through a hurricane outage rather than bill arbitrage; its payback runs longer while its lifetime value comes from resilience. Figures assume no federal 25D credit, because it ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, and are before the Florida sales-tax exemption. Your numbers depend on your roof, usage, and rate.

How FPL net metering credits your Fort Lauderdale solar

FPL credits the solar you export at the retail rate, roughly one-for-one, so a kilowatt-hour you send to the grid is worth about the same as one you use at home.

Florida keeps retail-rate net metering, which is the single biggest reason rooftop solar works in Fort Lauderdale. Under the rules the Florida Public Service Commission sets, FPL credits the power you export to the grid against the power you pull back, at the retail rate, roughly one-for-one, with leftover credits carried forward and trued up periodically (Florida PSC Rule 25-6.065, and FPL net metering guidelines, as of August 2026). When your panels make more than your home is using during the day, the surplus banks as a credit you draw down at night. This full-retail framework survived a 2022 attempt to phase it down, so it has held into 2026, but the exact true-up and any minimum bill are FPL tariff details that can change, so confirm FPL’s current net-metering terms before you sign.

The FPL-specific tariff mechanics live on their own page, and the statewide picture on ours. For FPL’s rate schedule, interconnection paperwork, and how its true-up works, see our FPL solar and net-metering guide. For how Florida’s full-retail credit works statewide, see our Florida net metering in 2026 guide, and for how the state’s incentives fit together, our Florida solar guide. Net metering does not zero out every line on the bill: it offsets your energy charges, not the fixed customer charge or taxes, so even a system that covers all your energy use leaves a small monthly bill.

Fort Lauderdale and Broward permitting, salt air, and getting the install right

Your solar permit runs through the City of Fort Lauderdale or Broward County, and the hurricane-zone rules add an engineering and product-approval step before FPL sets your net meter.

A Fort Lauderdale solar permit runs through the City of Fort Lauderdale building department or Broward County, and the hurricane-zone rules shape every step. Your installer submits the plan set, the engineered wind-load calculations, and the product-approval numbers for the racking to the local building department, which reviews and inspects the work before FPL sets the net meter. Because Broward is in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, the reviewer checks that the mounting hardware carries a current Florida Product Approval or Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance and that the attachment is engineered for your roof (Florida Building Code, Section 1620, as of 2026). This adds a step compared with lighter-code parts of the state, but it is also what keeps the array on your roof in a storm.

If you live near the beach or the Intracoastal, salt air is the other Fort Lauderdale detail worth raising with your installer. Homes close to the ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway see more salt in the air, which can corrode racking and fasteners over a 25-year system life, so it is worth asking for marine-grade aluminum racking and stainless-steel hardware rated for a coastal environment. None of this is a reason to skip solar in Fort Lauderdale; it is a reason to choose an installer who works in Broward every day and knows the county’s product-approval and inspection process. For how the wider timeline works, see our overview of solar permits and interconnection.

Which solar incentives still apply in Fort Lauderdale in 2026

Florida has no state solar tax credit, but that is because it has no state income tax at all, and the incentives it does offer are worth real money. The value in Fort Lauderdale comes from retail net metering plus two statewide tax exemptions, and it does not depend on the federal credit that ended after 2025. The table shows what is active for a Fort Lauderdale homeowner in 2026 and what has ended.

Program	What it does	Status in 2026 for a Fort Lauderdale homeowner
Florida sales-tax exemption	Waives Florida sales tax on qualifying solar equipment	Active; the 6% state sales tax does not apply to the hardware (F.S. 212.08(7)(hh), as of 2026)
Florida property-tax exemption	Excludes the added home value of solar from your property-tax assessment	Active; the value solar adds to your home is excluded from your assessment (DSIRE Florida, as of 2026)
Retail net metering	Credits exported power against imported power at the retail rate	Active; roughly one-for-one under Florida PSC Rule 25-6.065, true-up set by FPL (Florida PSC, verify current terms)
Federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D)	The 30 percent federal homeowner tax credit	Ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025 (IRS, as of 2026)

Note: The two Florida tax exemptions are the quiet workhorses here. You do not pay the state’s 6% sales tax on the equipment, and the value the system adds to your home is left out of your property-tax assessment, so going solar does not raise your tax bill. Both apply statewide, whether you are in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, or Coral Springs. Confirm each figure against the linked source and ask a tax professional about your own situation; MySolarFY does not provide tax advice.

What the federal tax-credit change means for Fort Lauderdale homeowners

The 30 percent federal homeowner solar tax credit ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, so a Fort Lauderdale homeowner installing in 2026 cannot claim it.

The federal homeowner credit is gone, and you should ignore any page or ad that still says otherwise. The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, so a Fort Lauderdale homeowner who buys solar with cash or a loan in 2026 cannot claim it (IRS, as of 2026). Being under contract or having paid a deposit before the deadline does not bring it back. You will still see search results and even AI answers claiming the 30 percent credit runs through 2032; that is out of date for the homeowner credit, which already ended. What carries the value in Fort Lauderdale now is FPL’s retail net metering, the Florida sales-tax and property-tax exemptions, and the bill savings from using your own power. For the full timeline, see what the federal solar tax credit change means in 2026.

One federal credit remains, but it is not the homeowner’s to claim. A separate commercial credit, Section 48E, can apply to the business that owns a leased or power-purchase-agreement system, not to the resident (IRS, as of 2026). On a lease or PPA you do not file for a federal credit yourself; the company that owns the panels does. The 25D homeowner credit, by contrast, ended after December 31, 2025.

Paying for solar in Fort Lauderdale: cash, loan, lease, or PPA

There is no single right way to pay for solar; the best fit depends on whether you want to own the system and capture the incentives yourself, or avoid an up-front cost. A lease or PPA can mean no up-front cost for eligible homeowners, but it is a long-term agreement with monthly payments, not free solar, and the system owner, not you, would claim any incentive that goes to the owner. The table compares the common paths at a high level. To think it through in more depth, see our guide on how a solar lease compares with a PPA.

Path	Up-front cost	Who owns the system and any owner incentives	Best when
Cash purchase	Full system cost	You, the owner	You want the fastest payback and the most lifetime savings
Solar loan	Little to none, financed	You, the owner	You want ownership without paying cash up front
Lease or PPA	$0-up-front where eligible	The third-party owner	You prefer no up-front cost and a simpler, fixed monthly bill

How to choose a solar installer in Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale sits in one of Florida’s deepest solar markets, which is good for you because it means real competition on price and service, and it also means more sales pressure to sort through. Rather than chasing a “top installer” list, screen any company against objective criteria:

• A valid Florida license, a certified solar contractor (CVC) or an electrical contractor licensed to do solar work in Florida.
• HVHZ experience in Broward, so they use product-approved racking and know the City of Fort Lauderdale and Broward County permit and inspection process.
• An engineered wind-load plan sized to your roof’s Broward design wind speeds, stamped by a Florida-licensed engineer.
• A written production estimate and warranty, so you can compare quotes on the same terms rather than on a sales pitch.

MySolarFY is a free matching service, not a listicle. We connect you with licensed companies that serve your area so you can compare written quotes side by side, on your own terms. For how we choose the companies in our network, see how MySolarFY works.

Fort Lauderdale solar FAQ

Who is my electric utility in Fort Lauderdale?

Florida Power & Light (FPL) serves Fort Lauderdale and Broward County. Florida’s electricity market is regulated, so the utility is assigned by location rather than chosen by the customer. FPL is also the utility that credits your solar exports under Florida net metering, so its rate schedule and tariff are what your solar math runs on. Confirm your own address is on FPL and check its current residential rate before you size a system.

Is Fort Lauderdale in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone?

Yes. Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, is in the Florida Building Code High-Velocity Hurricane Zone along with Miami-Dade. That means your rooftop solar racking must be engineered and product-approved for the roof’s design wind pressures. Broward’s design wind speeds run slightly below Miami-Dade’s (about 170 mph versus 175 mph for a typical home), but it is still a hurricane-zone standard well above the rest of Florida, so use an installer who works in Broward regularly.

Is solar worth it in Fort Lauderdale in 2026?

For most owner-occupied Fort Lauderdale homes with decent sun, yes. Florida’s retail net metering keeps the value of every kilowatt-hour high, a 6 kW system is modeled at about 9,508 kWh a year at ZIP 33301 on a live PVWatts run (NREL PVWatts, as of August 2026), and Florida’s rate runs about 15.4 cents per kWh (EIA, April 2026). We estimate a cash solar-only system pays back in roughly 12 to 13 years before the sales-tax exemption. Savings are not guaranteed and depend on your roof, usage, and how you pay, so get a written quote.

How does FPL credit the solar I export in Fort Lauderdale?

FPL credits exported solar against the power you import at the retail rate, roughly one-for-one, under the rules the Florida Public Service Commission sets, with leftover credits carried forward and trued up periodically (Florida PSC Rule 25-6.065, as of August 2026). That retail credit is the heart of why Fort Lauderdale solar math works. FPL’s exact true-up terms and any minimum bill are tariff details that can change, so confirm FPL’s current net-metering terms before you sign. For the FPL specifics, see our FPL solar guide.

Is there still a 30 percent solar tax credit in 2026?

No. The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, so a Fort Lauderdale homeowner who installs in 2026 with cash or a loan cannot claim it (IRS, as of 2026). Some search results and AI answers still say the 30 percent credit runs through 2032; that is out of date for the homeowner credit, which already ended. A separate commercial credit, Section 48E, is a business credit that only the company owning a leased or PPA system can claim, not the homeowner, and it does not revive the 25D homeowner credit, which ended after December 31, 2025.

Can I get solar with no up-front cost in Fort Lauderdale?

Some homeowners can, through a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) where eligible, which can mean no out-of-pocket cost at installation in exchange for monthly payments. This is not free solar; it is a long-term agreement, typically 20 to 25 years, it may include an annual price escalator, and total payments may exceed the cost of a cash purchase. On a lease or PPA the third-party owner, not you, owns the system and any incentive that goes to the owner, while your benefit is a lower or fixed power price. If you want to own the system and keep the Florida tax exemptions yourself, a cash purchase or solar loan is the path that keeps them. Check what you qualify for before deciding.

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Reviewed by the MySolarFY editorial team on August 13, 2026. Figures were verified against the linked FPL, Florida PSC, DSIRE, Florida Statutes, Florida Building Code, IRS, EIA, and NREL PVWatts sources as of August 2026; FPL’s net-metering terms and rates, the Florida sales-tax and property-tax exemptions, and Broward County’s product-approval and permitting requirements can change, so confirm current terms with FPL and your local building department before you decide. MySolarFY does not provide tax or financial advice; consult a licensed professional about your own situation. Learn more about the MySolarFY editorial team and how we work.

MySolarFY is a free service that matches homeowners with licensed solar installers. We are not an installer, financing company, tax advisor, or government program, and we do not provide tax advice. The federal residential solar tax credit (Section 25D) ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, and most homeowners who install in 2026 cannot claim it, so confirm your tax situation with a professional. “No up-front cost” refers to qualifying lease or PPA financing where eligible; these agreements typically run 20 to 25 years, may include an annual price escalator, and total payments may exceed the cost of a cash purchase; on a lease or PPA the system owner, not the homeowner, owns any incentive that goes to the owner. Solar panels are not free and monthly payments apply. Production, incentives, savings, and rates vary, change over time, and are not guaranteed. See our full disclaimer.