This Durga Puja & Navratri, Switch to Rooftop Solar: Festive Lights, Lower Bills and PM Surya Ghar Subsidy 2026

Durga Puja and Navratri bring lights, gatherings and longer evenings at home across India. They also bring higher electricity use. If you have been thinking about rooftop solar, the festive season is a good time to plan it: you can understand your real usage, check your roof and start your PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana application so that the system can help with your bills for years to come.

How much electricity do festive lights really use?

Decorative lighting is usually a small part of the bill when you use LEDs. The bigger jump often comes from guests, extra cooking appliances, fans or ACs running longer, and old incandescent or halogen lamps. You can estimate the lighting load yourself:

• Units (kWh) = wattage x hours used ÷ 1,000
• Example: LED string lights totalling 100 W, used 6 hours a night for 10 nights = 100 x 6 x 10 ÷ 1,000 = 6 units
• The same lighting with 1,000 W of old bulbs would use about 60 units

Check the wattage printed on your lights and appliances to work out your own numbers. Switching to LED decorations is the easiest festive saving, with or without solar.

How rooftop solar helps during and after the festive season

An on-grid rooftop system produces power during the day. With net metering, the extra units you export in daytime are adjusted against the units you draw from the grid at night, when festive lights are on. In most of India a well-installed, shadow-free system produces about 3.5 to 4.5 units per kW per day, so even a modest system can offset festive extra usage over the billing cycle. October and November usually have clear skies after the monsoon in many regions, which is good for generation.

Keep in mind that a standard on-grid system shuts off during a power cut for safety. If backup during evening pujas matters to you, ask about a hybrid system with batteries. Read our guide on solar plus storage.

PM Surya Ghar subsidy in 2026

Under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, residential consumers can get central financial assistance for grid-connected rooftop solar:

• ₹30,000 per kW for the first 2 kW
• ₹18,000 for the third kW
• Maximum ₹78,000 for systems of 3 kW and above

Some states add their own top-up subsidy. Applications are made on the official portal, pm-suryaghar.gov.in, and installation must be done by a vendor empanelled with your DISCOM. SolarConnect helps homeowners apply through our partner Pro Power Energies, the empanelled vendor. SolarConnect itself is not the empanelled vendor. After commissioning and inspection, the subsidy is credited to your bank account. See how to check your subsidy status.

Festive-season rooftop solar checklist

• Collect your last 12 months of electricity bills and note your average monthly units.
• Check that your roof gets sun from about 9 AM to 4 PM without shade from water tanks, trees or nearby buildings.
• Keep roof access clear and avoid tying decorations or pandal wiring to panels or structures.
• Never hang lights on solar panels, inverters or DC cables.
• Have festive wiring done by a licensed electrician and keep it away from the solar distribution box.
• Keep your consumer number, Aadhaar, bank details and a recent bill ready for the PM Surya Ghar application.
• Choose sizing by consumption: 0–150 units a month: 1–2 kW; 150–300 units: 2–3 kW; above 300 units: above 3 kW.
• If you already have solar, clean dusty panels with plain water after the festival. Read our cleaning guide.

Plan your system with SolarConnect

Every home is different, so system size and cost depend on your roof, usage and state. For pricing and a site assessment, Consult us. You can also try our solar calculator for a quick estimate.

Wishing you a bright and happy Durga Puja and Navratri.