Solar for a Florida second home or snowbird home

Usually, yes. Under Florida's net metering rule, extra solar you send to the grid earns kWh credits that carry forward month to month for up to 12 months. Credits you build up while you're away offset the power you use when you're back in the same calendar year.

At the end of the year, unused credits are paid out at the utility's as-available energy rate, only a few cents per kWh, not the full retail rate. FPL applies that credit to the December bill. So size the system for your home's full year of use rather than to produce as much as possible.

See Florida net metering and how many solar panels you need.

Humidity. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30% to 50%, to prevent mold. Florida Solar Energy Center studies of vacant Florida homes found that letting the house float with no air conditioning left humidity around 70%, while running the AC for two hours before dawn kept it under control.

FPL's 2026 tips for snowbirds suggest cooling to 72°F for two hours before sunrise and setting 88°F for the rest of the day, or 80°F on a non-programmable thermostat. That summer cooling is exactly when solar produces the most, so the panels keep working for you while you're gone.

Not quite. FPL and Duke Energy Florida have a $30 minimum bill, and Tampa Electric charges a basic service charge of about $0.45 a day, even on days you use no power. Solar covers the energy part of the bill, not these fixed charges.

See why your FPL bill is so high for how the rest of the bill works.

Yes. Under s. 193.624 of the Florida Statutes, the value solar adds can't be counted in the assessment of real property used for residential purposes, and the law doesn't require a homestead. Second homes don't get the homestead exemption or Save Our Homes cap, but they do get a cap on yearly assessment increases for non-school taxes, with no application needed. That cap is 10% today; Amendment 3, which voters approved in November 2026, lowers it to 5% from January 1, 2027.

See Florida solar incentives.

Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, the months many owners are up north. Enphase's Storm Guard watches National Weather Service alerts and charges the batteries automatically before a storm, and it's on by default. Tesla's Storm Watch charges Powerwall to full when severe weather is forecast.

If the grid goes down, a battery can keep the refrigerator, internet and air conditioning running, which helps keep humidity in check until power returns. You can watch the system from the app. See the best home batteries for Florida and solar and batteries in a flood zone.

Tell your insurer about the solar system and how often the home is empty. Citizens Property Insurance, for example, calls a home seasonal if it's unoccupied for three or more consecutive months in a policy year, and secondary if it isn't your primary home but is empty for shorter stretches. See solar and home insurance in Florida.

• Set the thermostat for humidity control, as FPL suggests, rather than turning the AC off.
• Turn off the water heater at the breaker, as FPL recommends.
• Check that the solar monitoring app is reporting and that the battery's storm mode is on.
• Leave your installer's contact and the system's shutoff location with whoever checks on the house.
• Have trees near the roof trimmed before hurricane season.