One of the biggest challenges people face when shopping for solar panels is pinning down an accurate cost estimate over the life of the system.
Quotes from solar installers often obscure the costs of individual components, and neglect to mention tax credits, part replacements, and other factors that will have a huge impact on the true cost of solar.
Since solar is often presented as a package deal, it’s easy to miss the detail that the cost to hire a solar installer is incredibly high, with labor and associated costs accounting for 54% of the typical solar project.
Many folks are not aware that DIY solar is even possible, much less the fact that it can knock tens of thousands of dollars off the cost of your solar project. In this article, we will:
- compare the cost and benefits of DIY solar vs. a full-service installation
- reveal the true lifetime cost of solar, including components, labor, maintenance, rebates, and expectations for future part replacements
DIY Solar vs. Full-Service Installation: The True Cost of Turnkey
NREL, the gold standard for research and data collection in the solar industry, publishes a study analyzing the cost of installed solar systems over time.
The latest report, published in 2023, breaks down the cost of solar installations as follows:
- Labor - $0.18 / watt - 7% of costs
- Soft costs - $1.28 / watt - 47% of costs
- System components - $1.22 / watt - 46% of costs
