The solar industry today looks very different.
Cost trends of solar panels.
There is now enough installed solar energy capacity in the u s.
The solar energy industry is part of a very dynamic market.
Now let s come back one last time to future forecasts from the world s leading energy authority the iea.
The most recent official data from the doe funded lawrence berkeley labs published in september 2019 found that the median cost of residential solar panels is 3 70 watt.
I ve shown that iea s 2010 and 2014 expectations of the cost of solar were dramatically higher than the actual costs we ve seen.
A tale of falling prices.
National data september 2020.
What range of costs should you expect to see in quotes for a solar panel system.
However solarreviews handles more than 1 000 quote requests per day and the current average price we see on our marketplace is 2 64 per watt.
Usually range from 11 144 to 14 696 after solar tax credits and the average price per watt for solar panels ranges from 2 51 to 3 31.
Over a decade ago in 2009 the cost of a solar panel installation was 8 50 per watt.
In addition to solar panel efficiency increasing dramatically solar panel producers have significantly improved their manufacturing processes.
Cost of solar panels over time.
Solar panel cost in 2020.
Many factors including government policies fossil fuel costs solar energy technology advances commodity prices and even public awareness of the climate crisis impact.
Solar panel costs for an average sized installation in the u s.
The iea is still underestimating solar cost trends.
What about going forward.
The average cost to install solar panels is from 10 626 to 26 460 after tax credit for a 6kw to 12kw system to power an entire house.
Solar industry analysis firm gtm also predicts residential solar installation costs to bottom out around 2 50 per watt a number that tesla has already attained and other installers are likely.
Most solar panels last for 50 years have a 25 year warranty and start generating a return on investment after 8.
On average installation and the system together can run between 15 000 and 25 000.
To power 13 5 million homes and this amount is expected to double in the next five years.
How does system size impact the cost of solar.
Average solar panel cost.