How much do solar panels really cost?
I often get the question: how much do solar panels cost? On the surface, it seems like a pretty straightforward question, with an answer that is easily attainable. However, the concept of “cost” includes much more than the sticker price of a few solar panels. When considering any alternative energy project, you need to consider the materials cost, the installation cost, maintenance cost, and energy savings. You should also think about the added value to your home or building.
In short, there is no direct, simple answer.
Turning first to materials cost, plan on an investment of about $6-9 per watt of solar energy (the higher end, if you are paying for installation). The size of your house is largely irrelevant, but you’ll need to look at your recent electric bills and decide how much energy you use in a given month (on average) and how much direct sunlight you get. A rough range for upfront costs, including installation, for solar panels, inverter box, wiring, etc., is approximately $30-40,000 for a single family house, if you are looking to entire replace grid-based electricity with solar energy. Your particular needs may range higher or lower. You could also experiment with a do-it-yourself solar panel system, which is explored in another post. Be sure to shop around to get the best bids for a solar panel system, if you are buying from a retailer.
The initial cost does not take into consideration any tax rebates or other incentives, which can save you up to 80% of the overall cost. Even with an 80% discount, many people might still believe that spending $5000-10,000 on solar panels is too rich for their blood. So let’s turn now to maintenance cost and energy savings. Taking these into consideration, along with the increased value of a building with solar panels vs. one without, your investment could be recouped in about 5-8 years. Stay in your house longer than that, and you’re paying yourself:
Considering solar panels' cost, they pay for themselves pretty quickly
Buy installing solar panels, you guard against energy rate increases in years ahead. You also have the security of an energy source during times that the grid is down. When you consider that your savings in electricity bills will pay for your system in less than 10 years, you’ll recoup your investment about 3 times over during the solar panels’ lifetime.
The added value to your home as a result of installing solar panels is fairly easy to calculate, using an appraisal tool that has been reliable for the past 30 years. The Appraisal Journal states that, in the United States, value rises about $20 for every $1 decrease in energy costs. Thus, if your utility bills run you $500 a year (and you save that much), your home is increased in value by about $10,000. All of a sudden, the question of how much do solar panels cost becomes a lot less daunting.
Of course, for those that are interested in more than just saving energy, you can hardly put a price on the positive feelings associated with environmental stewardship. Doing your part to reduce your carbon footprint is a benefit that you can pass onto the next generation – with or without your home.
So next time you find yourself wondering how much solar panels cost, be sure to take into account the number of positive benefits that go beyond the price tag. You’ll be seeing the light soon!
Tags: cost of solar panels, solar panels cost, solar panels expense
March 31st, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Dear Sir
We are conducting an engineering analysis for setting up of a solar power plant in our institute, GIKI, upto 2.5 MW capacity
Kindly inform us how much will it cost in terms of
1: Initial cost of solar panels and accessories
2: Installation cost
3: Maintenance and operating cost per year
4: Service life of plant
Regards
April 19th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Very few people will buy this with a payback that is 10-15 years. It will only become more mainstream with a payback of under 5 years.
April 28th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
ho
July 19th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
If you can achieve 1kw of solar energy and link it to a geothermal pump you would achieve free heating and hot water for 3 adults.although expensive to install it would take only 8 years to break even.
MARMALADE-ART GALLERYSALES
August 1st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
hai this is manivannan i want to known the solar panel cost which give me(6v-12v) or 10w-15w please tell me where it be sold in chennai
August 27th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
pls, am interested in this solar power and I want to go into the business , can you e-mail me for more details ,and what is the renge of power that will cover two bedroom house ,how much will that cost?
finally pls can you link me with any company in chinna ,where I can get this solar panel .
November 15th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Yeah I have been investigating them because i have to do a report on them and this seems like a pretty good site..!!??
November 30th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
can you give an exact amount of how much to pay to get solar panels? to they charge taxes and installation
December 11th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
i love boys with solar panels cause they are rich.
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Sir,
I would like to install solar energy pannel for meeting domestic needs[ water, lighting, cooking etc.]
How much would be the cost for installation at my home? Please letme know the details.
Regards
Gara Latchanna
March 12th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Seems like if they started making solar panels mandatory as part of the building code in highly-populated sunny areas like Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Las Vegas, etc. the cost would come way, way down for everyone.
There is no reason why they can't develop some sort of solar roofing tile. Plastic should not cost $40,000.
Until then, I can't afford it and it doesn't make a whole lot of financial sense. Very frustrating with the technology being there in the middle of an energy crisis.
April 3rd, 2010 at 7:37 am
We are interested in solar power, enough to provide our needs to run a DVR and 6 security cameras. Can you help ?
July 27th, 2010 at 5:12 am
I saw this idea for solar panels to be put in the pavement on roads and parking lots and stuff. Does that exist and how much would that cost? Here's the idea http://bit.ly/9tQTrq
August 26th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
G’day mate,
I think you are selling a environmentally friendly product that will sell very well and i like the fact you want to save the earth. cheers, for all the tips and hope this business does well.
yours sincerely, William Eaton.
August 30th, 2010 at 5:05 am
When someone asks for costs of something we are not asking for how much we can save by buying it – DON’T FIGURE THAT INTO THE COST- THINK LIKE A CONSUMER WE WANT HOW MUCH MONEY WE ARE SPENDING NOW! We are asking what it will cost us NOW. So if I say what will it cost to buy solar panels for my house, I want to know what it will cost to pay for the panels, pay for the wiring, the batteries and the hook up. As in how much will it cost to convert my house to solar power. How much I save is a sales gimmick to try and distract me from the high cost of going solar. (Kind of like Hybrid vehicle scam) When people ask for cost we want to know what comes out of our pocket right now to pay for it, we do not want the runaround and be told in 15 years it will pay for itself – not if I took out a loan at 10% or more interest to build it. Notice they only tell you how much you will save when they need to convince to buy something really expensive when there are cheaper alternatives available (cheaper being coal and I don’t care about the environment I will be dead by the time global warming causes a problem)
October 27th, 2010 at 2:38 am
http://www.solarpanelused.com/.....anels-cost
November 9th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
i am doing a project and i need to know how much of the U.S uses solar energy
November 25th, 2010 at 11:35 am
In response to Jena’s Question, I have also been doing a project on alternative energies. I took my statistics from the year 2009 and found the percentage to be about 0.08% but to make sure here is where I found the information
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/e.....le1_1.html
It is a government website so the values are correct and accurate.
Regards
Bbcaas
December 16th, 2010 at 9:18 am
In England we have firms advertising Solar Panel sales positions, job vacancies, with on-top-earnings projected at $200k-$300k pa. The sales gimmick appears to be that these systems not only pay for themselves by providing cheap energy for your own use, but you’ll have enough surplus energy left over to be able to sell it to the UK National Electric Grid and earn an extra income from this source. This is all
*($+&^. It reminds me of the double glazing salemans gimmick of ” And if you order now we’ll make your house a show home and every client we send you [to view the workmanship] we will pay you an $100.00 for”, [follow sales managers instructions and pull out sales-dossier to show victim “that in no time the system would have cost you nothing”. Another gimmick is “overcharge them and you can keep 50% of the extra sums of money involved”. This is fraud and it happens everywgere. Please do not buy Solar Panels!!!!
December 18th, 2010 at 2:22 am
how much the average solar panel in india?
January 4th, 2011 at 11:30 am
i do not like these pieces of shit they do not work worth shit dont by them
January 27th, 2011 at 3:00 am
i want to install solar panel in my home just to take an initiative in my town to cut some carbon footprints.so can u plz tell me how much it cost ?
February 27th, 2011 at 7:17 am
Hi, Im doing a research report on solar panels. I was wondering how much does the average person save each year using solar energy?
April 30th, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Dear Sir
We are conducting an engineering analysis for setting up of a solar panel, upto 300KW capacity
Kindly inform us how much will it cost in terms of
1: Initial cost of solar panels and accessories
2: Installation cost
3: Maintenance and operating cost per year
4: Service life of plant
Regards
May 10th, 2011 at 5:54 am
“I managed to build 2 panels for under $100!”
I was looking to purchase a few retail solar panels for my home but after looking at the price of them it just made sense to build my own.
After going through your materials I managed to build 2 solar panels for under $100! They are just small panels but this is all I need for the lighting and fridge in my courtyard.
Click here for details
June 9th, 2011 at 7:45 am
please how much is it gonna cost for the installation. where is your office in Nigeria. thanks
July 10th, 2011 at 2:04 am
hai this is iyappan i want to known the solar panel cost which give me(6v-12v) or 400w-1000w please tell me where it be sold in chennai
July 11th, 2011 at 10:42 am
Colleagues, good afternoon!
We offer you a new innovative product – the solar cells with an
efficiency of 35%.
We developed the technology and began to produce solar Cell 156 mm
with an efficiency of 35%. Notify your email address we will send you
a presentation of technology, photography and performance. My e-mail:
vladimirkarasev1@gmail.com
July 13th, 2011 at 9:06 am
We sell solar panels poly crystaline 2KW System complete with inverter (converts DC to 110V AC) and charger controller (charging your batteries from solar or wind turbine) for USD 6000 for complete set. Depending where you live, the return of investment would be about 4 years
August 1st, 2011 at 8:52 am
MY NAME IS MONIQUE SIMON. I LIVE IN BLOOMFIELD, NJ. MY MOTHER & FATHER HAVE A HOUSE IN HAITI. IT IS A BIG HOUSE. THEY HAVE A BIG PROBLEM–ELECTRICITY. THEY DON’T HAVE ELECTRICTITY TO RUN THE HOUSE.
THEY WANT TO BUY A SOLAR PANEL TO SUPPLY ELECTRICITY TO THE HOUSE. THEY WANT SOMETHING THAT WLL WORK WELL FOR THE HOUSE. I DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY HOW THIS THING WORKS. CAN YOU, PLEASE, TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT THEY NEED TO BUY. EXACTLY WHERE AND HOW THEY CAN BUY IT TO USE IN HAITI? HOW MUCH IT WILL COST. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW EXACTLY. INCLUDING THE DIFFERENT PRICES–FROM THE HIGHEST TO THE LOWEST PRICE.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEH SOLAR PANEL AND THE SOLAR POWER. PLEASE, LET ME WHAT MY FAMILY CAN BUY FOR THEIR HOUSE IN HAITI. ELECTRICITY IS A BIG PROBLEM THERE.
August 8th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
I would also like to purchase solar panel. What will be the cost?
August 17th, 2011 at 6:52 am
hi i am karaneeswaran from india(TN) chennai and from my knowledge found that cost of the solar panels are expensive and a lot to maintain and people are insisted to save power to reduce global warming and solar power is essential for today and for the future and it must be made economical and must be in reach for everyone and the fact is only a few people are aware of the solar panel
September 11th, 2011 at 3:54 am
I think still solar panel not cost effective. I have bought one on last month, it was too pricey.
October 14th, 2011 at 9:53 am
If you’re looking to price out home solar panels, you’re welcome to use our Instant Solar Cost & Savings Estimate. It’s free and there’s no obligation to buy- get the info you want in seconds here: http://leosunergy.com/estimateform.php
October 26th, 2011 at 9:18 am
Solar energy is great alternative of regular energy source. I have built a site about solar lights. And this site also doing great. Good wish for solarpanelspower.net
March 22nd, 2012 at 12:58 pm
I certainly would rather pay the initial cost of an install than give 1 more single dollar to American Corporate greed. The off the grid system is amazingly satisfying. Also Geothermal which will keep your energy efficient home at a constant 50 degrees summer and winter at a cost of installation of around 13,000 U.S. dollars installed. http://www.geothermalheaters.com/cost/. It’s way past time for archaic fossil fuels and the greed and wars caused by them.
March 27th, 2012 at 9:38 am
Robert and Josh are SPOT ON! Solar energy is a total SCAM. The government should step in and do something about this. The sun is FREE. The companies that install panels are paying a fixed cost per panel or per 10 panels or per 100 panels from the manufacturer. WHY IS IT A SECRET? Because it is a SCAM. Think of it this way; when you buy a car, does the car dealership base the price of the car on HOW MANY MILES you drove your last car for a year? Of course not. The cost of the car is the cost of the car. The dealership buys the car from the manufacturer, adds a profit margin and sells the car to us, the consumers. These solar power companies are selling solar panels based on what THEY THINK is fair based on what the customer is already paying the electric company for electricity (per watt). So, if Joes’ electric bills for 1 year were lower than Bob’s electric bills for 1 year, then Joes pays less per panel than Bob. How in the world is THAT FAIR? This is a total rip off.
July 6th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
If you want to solar panels installed in your homes, there are many factors to consider to determine the cost of solar panels. Some home may not be suitable because of the location or surrounding property. http://essexsolarsolutions.co......ar-panels/