Mirasol · Los Cabos
Solar panels generate electricity. What determines how much you actually save isn't the sun — it's the rate CFE charges you. In Los Cabos, the difference between a DAC household and a subsidized domestic account can be ten times the monthly savings from the same installed system. Here is the honest guide.
Quick view
Not every home saves the same with solar in Los Cabos. Find out if your CFE bill — DAC, 1F, or commercial rate — makes panels a real investment.
On tariff 1F, the first blocks cost between 0.839 and 1.039 MXN/kWh — heavily government-subsidized rates. A panel displacing those kilowatt-hours saves real centavos per unit. The system can still provide a return, but the payback period stretches considerably.
Once CFE reclassifies you to DAC, you pay 7.249 MXN/kWh (BCS summer rate, May 2026) from the very first kilowatt-hour in the billing period. The same panel generating 1,000 kWh per month avoids roughly MXN 7,249 in charges on a DAC bill versus roughly MXN 1,039 in subsidized blocks. The sun is identical. The impact on the bill is not.
Businesses — restaurants, retail centers, gyms, grocery stores, offices — pay tariffs PDBT, GDMTO, or GDMTH with no government subsidy from the first kilowatt-hour. All solar generation displaces real operating cost.
At DAC in BCS, 1,200 kWh per month comes to roughly MXN 8,844 bimonthly (7.249 MXN/kWh plus a fixed monthly charge of 145.24 MXN). With solar reducing net consumption to 240 kWh, the charge falls to approximately MXN 1,885. The same household on subsidized tariff 1F would pay roughly MXN 1,187 before solar and roughly MXN 201 after — real savings, but far smaller in absolute terms.
Real-world usage
This uses a 2,001 kWh bimonthly bill as a concrete example. The point is not to blame one appliance; it is to show how a Los Cabos home can become a high-consumption solar case.
A ~1.1 kW mini-split used 8 hours per day consumes about 528 kWh per bimonthly bill. Four units at that pattern can exceed the full example.
These bars mix daily use and per-cycle use. They help separate what drives a bill from what only adds a little.
Educational references only: older equipment, heat, real hours, pool size, insulation, and habits can move the result a lot. For a quote, the bill and property measurement lead.
The fundamental principle
Solar economics come down to one question: at what price are you buying back the kilowatt-hours your panels replace? CFE does not charge the same rate across every consumption block. The more expensive your marginal rate, the more valuable each kilowatt-hour you generate yourself. In Cabo, that creates dramatic differences between neighbors with identically sized homes.
On tariff 1F, the first blocks cost between 0.839 and 1.039 MXN/kWh — heavily government-subsidized rates. A panel displacing those kilowatt-hours saves real centavos per unit. The system can still provide a return, but the payback period stretches considerably.
Once CFE reclassifies you to DAC, you pay 7.249 MXN/kWh (BCS summer rate, May 2026) from the very first kilowatt-hour in the billing period. The same panel generating 1,000 kWh per month avoids roughly MXN 7,249 in charges on a DAC bill versus roughly MXN 1,039 in subsidized blocks. The sun is identical. The impact on the bill is not.
Businesses — restaurants, retail centers, gyms, grocery stores, offices — pay tariffs PDBT, GDMTO, or GDMTH with no government subsidy from the first kilowatt-hour. All solar generation displaces real operating cost.
The strongest case
If your CFE bill already shows 'DAC' — or if you regularly reach 850 kWh per month in Los Cabos zone 1C — the numbers for solar become difficult to ignore. A system covering 80 percent of your consumption can drop a bimonthly bill from MXN 17,000 or more to under MXN 4,000.
At DAC in BCS, 1,200 kWh per month comes to roughly MXN 8,844 bimonthly (7.249 MXN/kWh plus a fixed monthly charge of 145.24 MXN). With solar reducing net consumption to 240 kWh, the charge falls to approximately MXN 1,885. The same household on subsidized tariff 1F would pay roughly MXN 1,187 before solar and roughly MXN 201 after — real savings, but far smaller in absolute terms.
DAC thresholds in BCS: zone 1C → 850 kWh/month, 1D → 1,000, 1E → 2,000, 1F → 2,500. A solar system that holds you below that boundary prevents reclassification — an additional savings that basic payback calculations do not always capture.
A three- or four-bedroom villa in Pedregal or Palmilla running three or four mini-splits from June through October can easily reach 2,000 to 3,500 kWh per month. These households pay the highest marginal cost per kilowatt-hour in the entire domestic CFE network.
No subsidy from kilowatt-hour one
A restaurant, retail plaza, gym, or professional office does not receive the subsidized block ladder that residential accounts get. From the first kilowatt-hour they pay full commercial rates. Every kilowatt-hour a solar panel generates replaces real operating cost.
Businesses with consumption concentrated in solar hours — kitchens, refrigeration, HVAC, water pumping, lighting — are the most natural candidates. Panel generation coincides with demand.
A condominium or residential development running water pumps, pool heating, and common-area air conditioning has a high and continuous consumption profile. When that load is on commercial tariffs, solar economics apply strongly from the very first kilowatt-hour displaced.
A bar operating mainly at night without a storage system generates kilowatt-hours it cannot consume when needed. The case can still work if there is meaningful daytime kitchen or refrigeration load, but it needs to be analyzed honestly.
When the numbers are narrower
If your home consumes less than 850 kWh per month and sits firmly within the subsidized blocks of tariff 1F, solar can still make sense — but the argument is protection against future rate increases and energy independence, not dramatic immediate savings.
If you are at 700 to 800 kWh per month, a hot summer or a new appliance can push you over the DAC threshold. A solar system that anchors you below that boundary prevents the tariff penalty — real value even if direct savings appear modest.
If you rent and are not the CFE account holder, and do not control the roof, solar is not a direct option for you.
How many kilowatt-hours does your property consume each month? On what tariff? What is your marginal cost per additional kilowatt-hour? Your CFE bill contains all three answers.
FAQ
When your average consumption over the past 12 months exceeds the threshold for your zone. In Los Cabos zone 1C that limit is 850 kWh per month; in zone 1F it is 2,500 kWh per month. Once you cross the threshold, CFE charges 100 percent of your consumption at the DAC rate — not just the excess.
As of May 2026, the DAC rate in BCS is 7.249 MXN/kWh in summer plus a fixed monthly charge of 145.24 MXN. That is roughly seven times the cost of the basic subsidized block on tariff 1F (0.839 MXN/kWh).
Yes, in practice. If the solar system reduces your net consumption below the threshold for your tariff class during the reading period, CFE reclassifies you in the following billing cycle.
Solar can still make sense, but the payback period is longer. If you are paying less than MXN 1,500 per month on your CFE bill, the analysis should include projections for rate increases and potential DAC crossover — not only immediate savings.
No. Commercial tariffs — PDBT, GDMTO, and GDMTH — carry no government consumption block subsidy. From the first kilowatt-hour it is full commercial rate, which makes savings from self-generation direct and predictable.
For most homes and businesses with meaningful daytime consumption, no. CFE operates under a net metering framework: excess kilowatt-hours you generate during the day are credited against kilowatt-hours you consume at night within the same billing period.
Sources
These sources help explain regional solar and CFE context. A final property quote still depends on the bill, roof, and technical visit.
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