How Much Does Solar Cost?
A growing number of homeowners want to know how many solar costs, but it can sometimes be difficult to get a straight answer. To help shine a light, we took the results of over 45,000 solar estimates created by real U.S. homeowners in 2011 and put them into these maps. Homeowners used One Block Off the Grid’s online solar estimate tool to generate these results for how much solar would cost and save them, personally. Energy analytics powered by Clean Power Research.
How much solar power costs in your state
Think solar is out of reach? Think again. Real solar cost estimates of show state, regional, and local incentives are helping bring the cost of solar way down. In many states, you can go solar for less than $10,000. Here’s a look at the average cost to go solar in each state (See first image).
What you could save every month with solar energy
By going solar, people around the country are saving money each month that would have gone to utility companies. Just how much are they saving by putting solar panels on their house? In some places, they save over $100 each month. (See second image)
What you could save over time with solar panels
What would you do with an extra $20K? That’s how much the average solar system will save you over 20 years. Residents in some states with high electricity prices can expect to save much more than that – consider Hawaii, where residents save on average $64,000 with solar after 20 years. (See third image)
How long it’ll take to pay for itself with solar power
Seems like a no-brainer: High cost equals long payback time, right? Not exactly. A state with good solar incentives can mean a low net solar cost, but if electricity is cheap in that state (like Arizona or Louisiana), the payback period for solar can still be pretty long. Conversely, a system may cost more in a given state, but if electricyt prices there are high, the payback period for solar may actually be pretty short. (See fourth image)
What’s One Block Off the Grid?
One Block Off the Grid provides deals on solar energy. Since 2008, One Block Off the Grid has provided hundreds of deals in over 40 U.S. states and helped thousands of homeowners go solar. We’ve been featured in dozens of publications and programs including The New York Times, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, USA Today, Marketplace, Wired, and GOOD Magazine. In 2010, One Block Off the Grid sponsored the first-ever solar Groupon and received a Heart of Green Award for “Best New Innovation.” Want to find out if there’s a deal on solar in your area? Sign up for One Block Off the Grid (it’s free). Not ready to go solar, but want to help take solar mainstream? Tell your friends about One Block Off the Grid.
February 17th, 2012 at 9:46 PM
[...] your believed return on financial commitment (ROI)? This infographic beneath, made by One particular Block Off the Grid (1BOG)* has all the answers, and a couple of a lot more. Properly, they are generalized solutions, based [...]
February 27th, 2012 at 10:23 PM
Fantastic stuff as usual, from 1BOG.
One thing that isnt clear is the size of the systems, relative to the cost; perhaps only of interest to solar geeks like me, but im working on almost excatly the same type of analysis in Australia (its an ongoing task) and Id love to understand more about the $/W
February 27th, 2012 at 11:19 PM
Yeah, hard to sum all that up in map form. The average was around 5.2 kilowatts, if that helps.
February 27th, 2012 at 11:22 PM
Shannon; thanks for the response. Is the full data set set available to good solar folks?
After some comparative analysis, Id be delighted to share some local data and analysis from down under.
Our prices are really, really low at the moment but ave system size is around 2.2kW.
February 28th, 2012 at 9:36 AM
I love randomly coming across sites such as this. We have a few clients that have gone solar and any other green alternatives on their mansions being built. Cost breakdowns will eventually help those who have smaller houses sitting on the fence to upgrade.
March 1st, 2012 at 4:25 PM
I like the pretty maps but the numbers don’t add up. WA – $71 per month = $17,101 savings after 20 years. If the setup costs 22,834 how can it pay for itself in 19 years? 19 years worth of saving $71 dollars = $16,246, way less than the $22,834 it cost to set up.
Does this count true costs and returns? Assuming somebody paid $23,000 in cash, no loan or interest is fine. Most people probably won’t do that but it is fine for this inforgraphic. But trying to say it will pay for itself in 19 years ignores the fact that $23,000 will grow to $42,000 after 20 years at a very modest three percent.
One other side note that would be impossible to account for here- in WA the vast majority of people live on the coast side of the mountains where the clouds and famous Seattle rain are. The east side of the mountains may boost up our state’s sun numbers but can’t be used on a personal basis. I looked into adding solar to my house and ‘pay for itself’ time was 79 years.
March 1st, 2012 at 9:26 PM
The numbers may seem not to add up, but they do, because they include state and local-level rebates and incentive details that can’t easily be included on a static map. We recommend using our online solar estimate tool (http://1bog.org/solar-estimate) to see all the detail included in the ROI calculations for your state. And yes, it’s true that your individual property may have different numbers than the ones you see here. These numbers are averages of all the estimates taken in that state in 2011.
March 15th, 2012 at 11:36 AM
Interesting graphics. Thanks for the information. Does this take into account costs to clean and maintain? What is the life expectancy of a PV set up. Does this take into acocunt a zero balance or worth at the end of the period or is there a residual at the end of 20? Is this residual factored into the break even period? Thanks. I’ve been to green events and the passion is contagious.
March 15th, 2012 at 3:38 PM
There was one thing I didn’t see in you payback figures. What is the life expectancy of the equipment, solar panels, inverters, storage batteries, etc. The people that I have talked to, who have solar systems in there homes, both in Washington state & Nevada have said the life expectancy is only 10+- years. This falls way short of the payback in almost any state.
I ran into one homeowner that said he produced much more electricty off of a small wind generator than he did off of his solar panels and that was on the desert in Nevada where it’s sunny most of the time.
March 15th, 2012 at 11:06 PM
The people with whom you’ve spoken are very much mistaken and/or are the exception to the rule. The *standard* warranty for solar panels is 25 years and solar in general tends to be *very* long lived due to the total lack of any moving parts. There are still solar systems around from the 1960′s, in fact, that are working beautifully. There are a bunch of reasons why your Nevada friend might not have been producing much solar power — small system, a botched self-installation, or a roof that simply is not good for solar for one or more reasons. That’s why we’re very rigorous in our estimate and shading analysis process — we only recommend solar systems to those who are truly good candidates for one, and that is definitely *not* every homeowner. Hope that answers your question, Roger!
March 15th, 2012 at 11:11 PM
Most of our homeowners don’t spend anything on cleaning (letting rain do the job for them) and a standard warranty on solar panels is 25 years. More elaborate maintenance plans are often a part of solar leasing agreements these days. How you’re compensated for the excess solar energy you generate depends on where you live, but in most places, you get credit for the excess you generate and many of our solar homeowners end up with a negative utility balance at the end of the year. This isn’t factored into the return on investment calculations, however, because to the degree it’s possible — system sizes are designed to the homeowner’s actual energy needs. Most states and counties will only let you install as much solar as you actually need, which is why they require 12 months’ worth of historic kilowatt usage information in order to grant a permit to install solar. Hope this answers your question, John!
May 10th, 2012 at 6:29 PM
My girlfriend’s father has been subtly pitching me on the benefits of solar for a while now (she has too), but I was really under the apparently erroneous assumption that the cost of installation was too high, and the payback period too long to justify doing any real research into the idea. I’ll be looking into it further after seeing your infographic. Well done.
May 14th, 2012 at 11:26 AM
Great, Barry! It really does depend heavily on the incentives available in your state, as well as your current electricity bill and roof’s level of exposure to the sun. If your ROI doesn’t end up making sense now, it’s still a good idea to get a new quote every year or so, as incentives are changing radically right now from state to state.