Solar Panel Installation Cost

Solar panels save most buyers a lot of money. Solar panel installation costs are not always easy to swallow, though. The fact is, you sometimes have to spend money to save money. And you sometimes have to spend a lot of money to save a lot of money.

Solar panels are not really like TVs or phones when it comes to cost; they're more like tiles or mulch. That is, there is not dramatic variation in the technology options, and the differences in cost are mostly just related to how many you need. If you have a big roof and use a lot of electricity, you need more solar panels. If you have a small roof or a heavily shaded roof or you just don't use much electricity, you don't need as many solar panels and the price will be lower.

There's an extra factor that is important, though.

While the number of solar panels you need to have installed and the price of those panels are heavily dependent on your home and your energy use, and not very dependent on the solar panel market, solar installer costs vary notably from company to company. Some installers just cost more — they may have higher or lower overhead costs than the industry average, higher or lower customer acquisition costs than the industry average, or other reasons for having a significantly higher or lower solar panel installation cost.

This is why I routinely recommend getting as many solar quotes as necessary. It costs nothing to get a solar quote from an installer (an estimate of how much it will cost to install solar panels on your home or business) and you can get such quotes from any installer in your region. It's just a no-brainer: get as many solar quotes as possible, check the differences in solar panel efficiency (even though they're typically minor), pick your favorite ones to have them take a closer look, and then take the plunge and start saving money on your electricity bill!

Image: U.S. Air Force photo by Roland Balik