What do solar panels cost? This often-asked question has an easy answer: Solar panels cost about $300 per panel plus shipping. While accurate, that answer does not get at what the questioner is usually after, which is what the cost to install solar panels on my home will be and whether the value that the solar panel installation adds is worth that cost.
Home Solar Panel Installation Cost
The cost of a home solar panel installation has decreased substantially over the last two decades from a high of about $12–15 per installed watt to today’s stable pricing of about $3–4 per installed watt.
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In the past, the vast majority of the cost of a solar panel installation was the cost of the panels themselves, but today solar panels cost about one-tenth the amount they cost a few decades ago. Lower panel costs mean that the cost of a solar panel installation has much more to do with non-panel costs than ever before. Today, the bulk of the expense of installing solar comes from other areas of the installation, including associated materials (like solar racking, inverters, wires, and conduit), design and engineering fees, permits, installation labor, and, in Kansas, sales tax (in Missouri solar projects are exempt from sales tax).
Factors Affecting Home Solar Cost
The cost to install residential solar panels on a home will depend on the location, type of installation method (normal composition shingle roof, very steep wood shingle roof, ground mount, etc) and, naturally, how many panels are installed. Cromwell Solar has installed solar on thousands of homes in Kansas and Missouri, and our recent projects average about 7.5 kW, which is about 20 panels. For this average-sized system installed on a normal roof we see costs often range from about $20,000 to $30,000 before the 30% federal solar tax credit and $14,000 to $21,000 after the credit has been applied.
Additionally, today we have access to solar financing methods such as home solar loans and solar leasing that can lower the upfront cost of going solar. Financing solar panels has its own set of expenses and values to be weighed when considering solar panel installation on your home.
Learn more about home solar panel costs, benefits, payback period, and tax credits.