Cost Trend Of Solar Panels

A standard 6 kw residential solar system has dropped from 44 000 down to 15 200 over the past decade not including the federal solar tax credit.

Cost trend of solar panels.

Today it s around 0 13 per watt or about 600 times less. However solarreviews handles more than 1 000 quote requests per day and the current average price we see on our marketplace is 2 60 per watt. In 2020 a 10 000 solar system will qualify for a 2 600 tax credit. The cost has generally been following swanson s law which states that the price of solar drops by 20 for every doubling of shipped product.

Solar panel prices change on a regular basis. This means that the incentive will be greater in 2020 than in subsequent years. 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. Currently the credit is set at 30 percent but starting in 2020 the solar itc will be worth 26 percent of the total solar system cost including installation.

Decline in price of residential solar since 2000. Welcome to our comprehensive solar panel cost guide updated for 2020. In addition to solar panel efficiency increasing dramatically solar panel producers have significantly improved their manufacturing processes. The average cost of solar panels has fallen 65 from 7 34 per watt in 2010 to 2 53 per watt in 2019.

This article was updated on 1 7 2020. Key takeaways about solar panel cost the cost of solar in 2020 is about 12 920 after tax credits 2 91 watt the cost of solar has fallen over 20 over the past 5 years. 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 trying to figure out as well. Over a decade ago in 2009 the cost of a solar panel installation was 8 50 per watt.

Estimates are based on the average rate of decline. Check our solar panels page for current pricing. A solar payback period is the amount of time it takes for property owners who install solar panels to recover their initial investment through electricity savings. In pennsylvania the average solar payback period is 10 66 years.

The cost of solar panels has fallen just 2 3 in 2019 and forbes foresees panel prices as bottoming out soon as the chinese market stabilizes. The easiest way to calculate the average cost of solar panels is to look at its price in dollars per watt w which is relatively consistent across the united states. Regardless of the exact cost of installation there are many affordable financing options for solar panel systems.