The cheapest and most common way to put solar on an Indian rooftop — and the only one eligible for the PM Surya Ghar subsidy. Here's exactly how it works, what it costs, and the one situation where it lets you down.
An on-grid (grid-tied) system connects your solar panels directly to the utility grid through a bi-directional meter. There are no batteries. When your panels produce more than you consume, the excess flows back to the grid and your meter effectively runs backwards.
Under net metering, you're billed only on your net consumption. Generate 400 units in a month, use 300, and you pay for zero while carrying a 100-unit credit forward. Some states pay cash for surplus at a buyback rate (typically ₹2–3.5/kWh); others only offset your bill against future consumption.
Because self-consumed units save you your full retail tariff (₹5–7.5/kWh in most states) while exported units earn only the lower buyback rate, the economics are always best when you use as much of your own generation as possible — run heavy loads during daylight.
On-grid systems run roughly ₹55,000–70,000 per kWp installed, before subsidy. A typical 3 kWp home system costs around ₹1.8–2.1 lakh gross. There's no battery — which is 40–50% of an off-grid system's cost — so this is the most affordable configuration by a wide margin.
During a grid outage, an on-grid inverter shuts down automatically — even in bright sunlight. This is a mandatory safety feature called anti-islanding: it stops your system exporting power to the grid while linemen are repairing it, so they aren't electrocuted. The practical result is that a pure on-grid system gives you no backup during a blackout.
If your area has frequent, long outages (4+ hours daily), consider a hybrid system with a small battery, or a full off-grid setup.
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