What is the cost of solar panels? Solar photovoltaics (PV) technology continues to advance every year and its applications are increasing ranging from on-grid solar, off-grid solar, hybrid solar (PV), and portable solar solutions. All these applications use solar PV technology as the primary component to generate solar electricity for homes or commercial places. As a result, the cost of solar panels is the main driver of the price of such systems despite whether they are on-grid, off-grid, hybrid, or even portable applications. Since the year 2010, the price for solar panels has declined by over 70% and continues to decrease by at least 10% every year. Today(2020), the average price per watt for solar panels ranges from $2.57 to $3.35 according to EnergySage. Comparing this price to the price of solar panels of about $76.67/watt in 1977, the cost of solar panels has declined by over 99% resulting to the use of solar panels to big equipment like 2000MW utility-scale solar PV power plants to even on very small gadgets like solar cell phone chargers. The goal of research and development (R&D) is to reach higher efficiency and lowered solar panel costs. In addition to first-generation solar panels (wafer-based solar panels), R&D efforts have introduced second-generation solar panels which are the thin-film solar panels and third-generation solar panels that incorporate organic materials such as organometallic compounds and inorganic materials.
A faster and an easy way to know what is the cost of solar panels
The EnergySage provides a platform where you can compare the technical parameters of many solar panels before requesting a quote for them. You can compare and contrast at the EnergySage solar marketplace as there are thousands of solar panels available today that differ in the solar panel type, cost, wattage, and warranty offered. For more information, you can visit the EnergySage solar panel marketplace to obtain more information about the solar panels you may be interested in and obtain a quote.
For residential systems, the size of residential solar systems ranges from 3kW – 10 kW, and their cost will vary anywhere between $15,000 and $40,000 depending on system size and availability of incentives. This cost is also dependent on solar PV parts, the labor, overhead, and permitting fees. In general, you will realize that the bigger the system is, the cost per watt is also low. The average price per watt for solar panels ranges from $2.57 to $3.35, and solar panel costs for an average-sized installation in the U.S. usually range from $11,411 to $14,874 after solar tax credits. Amazon.com is another platform you can use to purchase different types of solar panels, especially for off-grid applications such as portable solar panels for RV, portable solar panels for backpacking, portable solar panels for hiking, portable solar panels for travel trailers, portable solar panels for campers. At Amazon.com, you can compare pricing for these types of solar panels and reading customer reviews for such types of solar panels. You can also check other different solar PV gadgets such as solar generators, solar phone chargers, solar lighting, and solar water pumping solar panels. At Amazon.com, you can compare pricing for these types of solar panels and reading customer reviews for such types of solar panels. You can also check other different solar PV gadgets such as solar generators, solar phone chargers, solar lighting, and solar water pumping solar panels.
What types of solar panels are there?
There are three main types of solar panels on the market today, Monocrystalline Silicon (also known as single-crystal silicon), Polycrystalline Silicon and Amorphous Silicon (a.k.a thin film). Let’s take a look at them one by one:
Monocrystalline Silicon (a.k.a single-crystal silicon)
Monocrystalline silicon panels are the most efficient solar panels on the market today and they cost more as well, but compared to the other types, they produce more power per square foot of area which makes them a great choice for large scale power generation. Their efficiency range is around 17% to 22%.
Polycrystalline Silicon (a.k.a multicrystalline silicon) These types of panels are less efficient and more affordable than the monocrystalline ones, but they work great for use with systems that produce lower power outputs because they can be made larger and they last at least twice as long as the mono types. Amorphous Silicon (a.k.a thin film) This type of solar panel is not actually a single type, because there are several different types in this class, but the most commonly used ones when it comes to residential applications are Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) and Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (or just “CIGS”). These are by far the least efficient of all solar panels on the market, but they are also very cheap to produce. How much do solar panels cost? The average price for an 8-Watt monocrystalline solar panel today is around $1.50 per watt, but some can go as high as $5 per watt and depending on the type of installation you use to install them, they can cost as much as $7.20 per watt. In general, the price for installing a solar panel system is between $1.20 – $2 per watt for an installed system, but that’s only if you already have a way to get the power that the panels produce and it doesn’t include anything else like batteries, backups or service guarantees. If you don’t have these things included in your price and you’re paying retail for them, then the cost can get up to $3 or even $4 per watt for your solar panel system.
Comentarios