Why annual sizing is the wrong instrument
Under a retail-rate net metering tariff, matching annual production to annual consumption is sound, because the timing washes out over the settlement period. Georgia does not work that way.
RNR-Instantaneous Netting settles continuously. Production above your demand at that instant is exported at the Solar Avoided Cost Rate, 3.2188 cents per kWh for 2026 with a 4 cent adder approved in the 2022 rate case, against a retail rate in the region of 14 to 15 cents.
So a system perfectly matched on annual totals can still deliver a poor return if the generation and the consumption happen at different times of day, which for a household that is out from eight to six is exactly what happens.
The design input that matters is therefore your daytime load shape rather than your annual kilowatt hour figure. Ask whether the design was built from interval data or from twelve monthly bill totals.
The 10 kW AC ceiling
Georgia Power residential customers may install systems with a peak generating capacity of 10 kW AC or less. That is a hard limit on the programme rather than a guideline.
For most Roswell homes it is not the binding constraint anyway, because the household load shape will suggest something smaller than the cap. But it is worth knowing before a large system is proposed.
It also means a design pushed toward the ceiling should be justified by something specific. Ask what daytime load the extra capacity is intended to serve.
Ask what happens if you later modify the system. Georgia Power documentation indicates that permission to operate applies to the original equipment and account, and that modifications require reapplying as a new project, which is a reason to get the design right the first time.
Getting the size right the first time
Ask for the design to be shown against a daily profile rather than an annual total: expected generation and expected household consumption, hour by hour, on a typical summer day and a typical winter day.
From that picture you can see directly how much of the generation your house absorbs and how much leaves at the export rate. That is the real output of the design work.
Ask what self-consumption share the model assumed and ask for the projection at a lower one. If the case depends on an optimistic assumption about when you use power, you should know that now.
Then consider the two levers that improve the picture without changing the array: shifting flexible loads into daylight, and adding storage. Both convert exports into self-consumption, and under this tariff both are worth more than they would be elsewhere.
Costing it out against a capped programme
The 30 percent federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D expired for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a cash or loan purchase in Roswell receives no federal tax credit, and Georgia has no state solar tax credit.
Section 48E survives at 30 percent for third-party owners under leases and power purchase agreements, so ask what a provider claims and what reaches you in the rate.
What exists is instantaneous netting on a capped programme, limited to residential systems of 10 kW AC or less, paying full retail value only for what you consume as it is generated.
Ask for the daily profile behind the design, the assumed self-consumption share stated on the page, and the projection at a lower share. Under this tariff sizing is the decision that matters most and it is difficult to revisit.