If you are thinking about getting solar panels for your home, you should know how much they cost. Here is our guide on the average cost of solar panels.
Americans typically spend close to $225 billion a year on energy costs. We’re also in the middle of an environmental crisis.
Solar panels are appealing to homeowners because they have the ability to cut down on your electric use and cut down on fossil fuels.
The first question that most people have about solar panels is whether or not they’ll make their money back.
That depends on the average cost of solar panels. How much do solar panels cost? Keep reading to find out.
The Average Cost of Solar Panels
There are a number of things to consider when pricing solar panels. The type of solar panels, the size of the job, the installation costs, fees, and your location all are pricing considerations.
HomeAdvisor reports that the average cost of solar panels is somewhere between $16,000 and $30,000.
For homeowners trying to decide if they’re going to make their money back or not, this range is too broad to be helpful.
Another metric to use is the price per watt. That refers to the energy output of the solar panels. That metric will help you determine how much energy savings you’ll see over the long term.
For example, a 6-kilowatt installation costs more than a 2-kilowatt installation. A 6-kilowatt unit has the ability to store and distribute much more energy, which will increase your return on investment.
Tax Rebates and Savings
Solar panels are much more affordable than they were just a few years ago. They’re within reach of most homeowner’s budgets thanks to tax credit and rebates.
For starters, there’s the Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit, which is applied towards your tax bill. This tax credit is worth 26% of your solar installation costs in 2020. In 2021, it gets reduced to a 22% credit.
After 2021, the tax credit is due to expire, unless Congress decides to extend the credit.
How can that impact your tax bill? Let’s say that you have an installation that costs $16,000. You can apply 26% of the installation or $4160 as a tax credit.
That lowers your tax bill dollar for dollar. If you owe $4000 on your taxes, that gets reduced to $160 thanks to the tax credit.
There are also state and local tax credits and rebates. You’ll want to check with your local department of energy. You may be able to lower your costs even further with manufacturer’s rebates.
Finding a Solar Installer
You want to make sure that you find a knowledgeable solar panel installer. It’s essential to have a team of experienced installers that can handle any type of job.
You also want to look at your financing options, and get bids from several companies, such as NG Solar. You should vet each company thoroughly and ask for references and referrals.
The Average Cost of Solar Panels
While there’s a broad range of installation costs, there isn’t a true average cost of solar panels. There are too many variables to determine a solid figure.
What you should look at are the tax rebate options, the quality of materials, and the cost savings over time. You want to know how long it will take to recover your costs.
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