How much will solar panels cost for your home?
See avg. solar panel cost data below or enter your zip code and power spend to calculate the right size solar system for your home and see live current solar offers from local solar companies
How much will solar panels cost for your home?
See avg. solar panel cost data below or enter your zip code and power spend to calculate the right size solar system for your home and see live current solar offers from local solar companies
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Average residential solar power system cost for homes in December, 2018 based on live current solar prices in your state
Showing results in Virginia
$3.16 per watt
Av. Cost per watt of residential solar panels installation
$2.21 per watt
Av. cost of solar panels for home
After 30% solar tax credit
$96
Av. Monthly payment on solar panels
$2.53 per watt
Financed solar system
After 30% solar tax credit
$28,900 savings
Av. Lifetime Savings
Average cost of solar panels for homes in Virginia as at December, 2018 is $3.16 per watt. This means that for a 5 kW residential solar system the cost is $15,800 before solar incentives and $11,060 after claiming back the solar tax credit. The average monthly payment is $96 making even zero down solar systems cash flow positive from day 1.
Our solar cost calculator will calculate how many solar panels you need for your home to cover your energy bill and get live current solar offers on the correct size solar system from the best local solar providers near you. In some cases solar payback can be as short as 5-8 years, leaving you with 20 years or more of free power.
Solar panel cost by state for each size of residential solar power system in December, 2018 based on current offers from solar companies near you
Click on your state for solar panels cost localized to your city or use the solar calculator above to see the live prices from solar providers near you.
Showing results for a 5kW system
| State | Cash Purchase (after 30% solar tax credit) |
Monthly Payment (Financed System) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $14,500 | $10,150 | $88 |
| Alaska | $15,500 | $10,850 | $94 |
| Arizona | $15,750 | $11,025 | $95 |
| Arkansas | $14,200 | $9,940 | $86 |
| California | $15,900 | $11,130 | $96 |
| Colorado | $15,600 | $10,920 | $94 |
| Connecticut | $16,900 | $11,830 | $102 |
| District of Columbia | $16,450 | $11,515 | $100 |
| Delaware | $15,000 | $10,500 | $91 |
Average solar panels cost per watt in each state of the US for solar panel installation from qualified local solar companies at December, 2018
| State | Cash Purchase (installed) $/watt before 30% solar tax credit |
Financed Systems (installed) $/watt before 30% solar tax credit |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $2.90 | $3.30 | Calculate |
| Alaska | $3.10 | $3.50 | Calculate |
| Arizona | $3.15 | $3.50 | Calculate |
| Arkansas | $2.84 | $3.35 | Calculate |
| California | $3.18 | $3.56 | Calculate |
| Colorado | $3.12 | $3.45 | Calculate |
| Connecticut | $3.38 | $3.75 | Calculate |
| District of Columbia | $3.29 | $3.65 | Calculate |
| Delaware | $3.00 | $3.50 | Calculate |
Solar panel cost
How much is the monthly payment on solar panels with current solar prices?
Enter your zip code and electricity bills to calculate an estimate of what your monthly payment will be for the right size of solar system for your house
How much do solar panels cost?
Residential solar panels cost for the most common sizes of solar power systems for homes?
How much will solar save you in Virginia
Enter your zip code and electricity spend to find the right size solar system for your home
How much do solar panel kits for home cost?
The cost of solar panel kits for homes ranges from around $1.30 per watt for a solar panel and inverter that are probably better used as boat anchors than installed on your house right through to around $2.00 per watt for premium brands of panels and high quality inverters. Here is a link to our relevant pages that discuss the prices of solar panel kits and the pros and cons of installing DIY solar panels.
Find out the cost of installing solar panels on your home
What should be included in the total solar system cost in solar quotes you receive from the best solar installers?
- Solar Panels and associated warranties from the manufacturer, usually for 25 years.
- Solar Inverter/s and associated warranties from manufacturer, usually for 5 or ten years.
- Racking and mountings to secure the solar panels to your roof.
- Sundry electrical equipment such a cabling, conduit, junction boxes and fixings used in the installation.
- Building approval from your authority of jurisdiction including the lodging of a permit application and an inspection after the solar system installation.
- Obtaining an approval from your utility and preparing a net metering agreement with your utility company. Possibly also a utility inspection depending on where you are located.
- A warranty, usually 10 years, on the installation labor from the solar company itself.
- Installation of the system by qualified electrical contractors.
- Solar loan options for a zero down system to avoid the upfront cost including an option to cover the federal tax credit portion of the solar system cost until you do next years taxes; and
- Analysis showing what your utility bills are likely to be after the system is installed.
Get a quote from a solar company near you
Finance options available to avoid the upfront cost of solar panels for your home
Best prices on cash purchase installed solar power systems for your home in Virginia
Best prices on cash purchase installed solar power systems for your home in Virginia
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What factors affect the cost of a fully installed solar system for my home?
Solar is a relatively new industry and there are still vastly different prices being offered by different solar companies for solar systems.
How much should I pay for solar panels? There is no simple answer to this question but understanding these factors will allow you to do a better job of ranking the solar quotes that you get back from solar providers near you.
How much will buying the best solar panels increase solar panel cost for my home?
For a discussion on choosing the best brands of solar equipment visit our top solar tips page.
In terms of pricing tier 1 solar panels will usually cost around $0.40 - $0.50 cents per watt more than a second or third tier solar panel. Here is another good discussion on the pros and cons of choosing a tier 1 solar panel over a tier 2 or 3 solar brand.
So for a common size of residential solar system, say 6 kW (6kW is 6,000 watts) using one of the best brands of solar panels will add around $2,400-$3,000 to the cost of the solar system for your home.
See how solar panel and inverter choice effects solar prices
Does solar panel installation cost vary for different types of homes?
The features of your home can affect the price you will pay to go solar in a number of ways including:
- The proximity of your home to the office of the solar companies that quote you can affect their price. This is why it is often better to seek out local installers.
- Whether your roof is such that the solar panels need to be installed in many different sub-arrays will add to the cost of an installation. For example if some panels need to go west, and some south and some on an eastern roof, this will add to cabling and conduit.
- The pitch of your roof will affect the cost of installing solar. If your roof if steeper it will make installation more difficult.
- The number of stories of your house can also have an affect on cost as it can add to safety requirements and may require lifting gear.
Get local installers to give a fixed quote for your home
How does the location of your home affect solar energy cost and how much solar will save you?
Location affects solar panel installation cost and solar payback period in the following ways:
- Whilst the 30% solar tax credit affects everyone equally across America, there are solar panel system tax credits in some states. In some cases there may also be county or utility solar incentives available where you live. Visit our Solar Panels 101 guide for your state to see what solar incentives are available in your city.
- How much power solar panels will produce at your home will vary with location and so will how many solar panels you need for your home. As the cost of solar panel installation varies with the number of panels you need then the amount of sun available at your home will affect solar cost.
- The location of your home will determine the utility company that you purchase power through, the electric rates you pay and the size of your electricity bills. It will also determine the amount you are paid for excess solar electricity that you feed into the public grid. The policy that ensures owners of home solar systems are paid a fair rate for solar power exported to the grid is called net metering.
Compare the 3 best offers from local solar companies in your city