Cambridge’s housing profile makes it one of the more selective solar markets in Massachusetts. The city is roughly 45% renter-occupied, with a large share of multifamily buildings where individual units cannot access rooftop solar independently. High-rise apartment buildings, university-adjacent rental blocks, and large multifamily structures where the roof is common property constitute a substantial portion of Cambridge’s total housing stock.
The viable solar candidate pool concentrates in specific neighborhoods and property types. Owner-occupied triple-deckers — Cambridge’s iconic three-story, three-unit wooden structures — are often the best candidates: the building owner controls the roof, can install solar that offsets the building’s total electricity load across all units, and captures the full SMART 3.0 income stream and net metering savings. Single-family homes in Cambridgeport, Strawberry Hill, the western edge of North Cambridge, and parts of East Cambridge provide conventional rooftop candidates with south-facing exposures.
Condominiums present the same challenge here as in Boston and Arlington: the roof is common property, and a solar installation requires collective action through the condo association. Cambridge’s relatively high condo density means this is a frequent question — and the answer is that community solar subscriptions through Eversource remain the practical alternative for condo owners who cannot organize a building-wide installation.
The narrower candidate pool in Cambridge means the installer you select should have demonstrable experience with urban Boston-area installations, including Cambridge’s permitting process through the Inspectional Services Department and Eversource’s interconnection workflow for the Eastern Massachusetts service territory.
Cambridge homeowners in Eversource Eastern Massachusetts territory access the same two-track solar income system that makes Boston one of the strongest solar markets in the country. The mechanics bear repeating because they are genuinely unusual: you receive both SMART 3.0 production payments and net metering export credits simultaneously — two separate income streams from the same system.
Net metering through Eversource credits Cambridge homeowners at close to the full retail rate — approximately 27–28¢ per kilowatt-hour — for every kilowatt-hour exported to the grid. Credits roll forward month-to-month indefinitely with no annual reset or forfeiture. At Eversource’s current rate, an 8kW Cambridge system producing 9,000 kWh annually and exporting half generates approximately $1,215 in annual net metering credit value from exports alone, plus offsetting roughly $1,215 in grid electricity for the self-consumed half.
SMART 3.0 pays a separate $0.03 per kilowatt-hour for total production — not just exports — for 20 years, paid by Eversource as a bill credit or check. An 8kW system producing 9,000 kWh generates approximately $270 per year in SMART income, or $5,400 over the 20-year program term. Income-qualified Cambridge households receive $0.06 per kilowatt-hour — double the standard rate. Battery storage earns a SMART adder above the base rate.
Per-watt installation costs in Cambridge run $3.10–$3.50 per watt, at the top of the Massachusetts range, reflecting the urban market’s permitting complexity and labor costs. Despite the higher upfront cost, the combination of Eversource’s rate, SMART income, the $1,000 Massachusetts state income tax credit, the 6.25% sales tax exemption, and the 20-year property tax exemption produces a payback period in the 7.5–9 year range — and 25-year savings that rival Boston’s strongest numbers in the dataset.
Cambridge solar installations run $3.10–$3.50 per watt installed — the higher end of the Massachusetts range — because the urban market commands premium labor rates and the permitting process through Cambridge Inspectional Services adds time relative to suburban markets. A typical 8kW Cambridge system (sized to the city’s more modest average consumption, given condo-heavy stock where owner-occupied homes are smaller than suburban equivalents) runs $24,800–$28,000 before incentives. After the $1,000 Massachusetts state income tax credit and the 6.25% sales tax exemption on equipment ($1,550–$1,750 in savings), the effective out-of-pocket cost for a cash purchase runs $22,000–$25,500. The 20-year property tax exemption prevents the installation from increasing your annual tax bill. SMART 3.0 income adds $270 per year for a standard-rate 8kW system ($540 per year for income-qualified households). Federal residential solar tax credit (Section 25D) expired December 31, 2025 — solar lease and PPA options still allow the installer to claim the commercial ITC and pass savings through lower monthly rates.
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