Solar panels in St. Augustine, FL

St. Augustine is a historic FPL city where zoning and historic reviews come before a building permit and tidal flooding can close the Bridge of Lions.

Most homes in St. Augustine get their electricity from Florida Power & Light (FPL). FPL net meters under the Florida PSC's rule: power your panels send to the grid comes back as a kWh credit at the full retail rate, credits roll forward for up to 12 months, and anything left at year-end is paid out at only a few cents per kWh. So the best St. Augustine systems are sized to cover a year of use, not more. See the full FPL solar guide.

Solar can't take your bill below FPL's monthly minimum of about $30.

These estimates apply to homes with mailing addresses in St. Augustine, including ZIP codes 32080, 32084, 32086, 32092, 32095.

Compare solar across nearby towns on the St. Johns County solar page.

About 63% of homes in St. Augustine are owner-occupied, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $439,800, compared with 68% and $359,000 statewide, according to the U.S. Census Bureau (2020-2024 estimates).

• You own the home. Rooftop solar requires owning the roof.
• Your roof gets sun for most of the day on its south, west or east side, without heavy tree shade.
• Your roof has years of life left. Replacing an aging shingle or tile roof before installing saves a removal and reinstall fee later.
• Your FPL bill is regularly over about $150 a month, or you're adding an EV or a pool pump.

Not sure? A specialist can check satellite imagery of your St. Augustine roof as part of your free quote.

Check these before you sign with any solar company serving St. Augustine:

• A Florida contractor license. Look up the company's license on the Florida DBPR license search and make sure it's active.
• Permits and utility paperwork included. The price should cover the permit with the City of St. Augustine or St. Johns County, inspections and the FPL net metering application.
• Two or three quotes compared on price per watt, equipment and warranties. Our solar quote checker flags high prices and other red flags, and our guide to choosing a solar company covers the rest.

Or request a free quote for your St. Augustine home from one of our trusted Florida partners.

Yes. A battery stores your solar power and keeps chosen circuits running when the FPL grid goes down, which standard solar alone can't do: grid-tied panels shut off in an outage. After a storm, the panels recharge the battery each sunny day until the grid comes back. One 13.5 kWh battery runs about $13,000 installed at recent South Florida prices, with no utility or state rebate.

One battery usually covers essentials; running central air usually takes two or more. Because FPL already credits exported solar at the full rate, a battery's value is backup, not a lower bill. See solar battery backup for hurricanes.

• Since January 2025, St. Augustine requires zoning, historic, archaeology, public works and utilities reviews to be finished before you apply for a building permit, except for simple over-the-counter permits. Ask whether your solar project needs those reviews first.
• The city's Historic Architectural Review Board oversees five historic preservation zoning districts, so homes there can face design review for visible changes. See solar on historic homes in Florida.
• Tidal flooding during Hurricane Milton in 2024 closed the Bridge of Lions for a couple of hours, and a federal Army Corps study of the city's flooding was expected in 2024 to take about four years to produce solutions.
• St. Augustine moved up to Class 4 in FEMA's Community Rating System, worth a 30% flood insurance discount for policies issued or renewed on or after April 1, 2026.
• The morning after Hurricane Milton, about 34,290 of FPL's 121,610 St. Johns County customers (28%) were without power, per the Public Service Commission.

1. 1

   Building permit

   Your installer applies to the City of St. Augustine or St. Johns County for the permit, with plans designed to Florida Building Code wind loads, and an inspector checks the finished work. Since July 2025, state law lets a private provider review residential solar and battery plans, with a decision due within 5 business days.

2. 2

   FPL net metering application

   Your installer applies to FPL to connect the system. Most home systems are Tier 1 (up to 10 kW), with no application fee.

3. 3

   Meter swap and permission to operate

   After the final inspection, FPL installs a net meter and gives permission to turn the system on.

4. 4

   Property tax

   Florida law keeps the value solar adds out of your home's assessment. If you're unsure whether anything needs to be filed, ask the St. Johns County Property Appraiser.