Every year, the news keeps getting better and better for people considering home solar power. Solar prices continue to fall – with a 17% drop in one year (2009-2010).
Last week, a new study was published by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy, showing the overall trend to more affordable solar panels.
This leads many people to declare, now is the time to go solar!
Looking at solar installation costs alone, homeowners can save 43% more than just twelve years ago. That’s practically half-price installation in the past decade! In a single year, from 2009-2010, the industry saw a 17% drop in solar installation costs.
The Berkeley report analyzed data from over 100,000 distributed generation (residential and commercial) solar installations, and determined that the costs of solar panels, as well as costs of installing them, along with necessary equipment such as solar inverters, have fallen off dramatically.
Perhaps the most determinative factor in falling solar prices is decreasing costs other than those associated with solar panels themselves (lower installation costs and streamlining manufacturing), rather than to invest in more R&D. Many believe that solar power is at – or close to – grid parity with coal-fired power plants.
Factor in solar incentives, tax rebates and financing options (including solar leasing) and many more people can finally afford to make the switch to solar power. Isn’t it time you considered the same thing?