Are you intrigued by the idea of installing solar panels on your home’s roof? It’s a fantastic way to save money on monthly electricity bills while keeping everything in your house powered up.
Before you fall in love with the idea of putting solar panels into place, though, you need to learn all about the cost of solar panel installation. It’ll help you decide if you can afford to install solar panels in the first place.
It can, however, be a little bit difficult to hone in on exactly what solar panel installation services will cost you. On average, you might be asked to pay anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 for a solar panel system.
Your total cost of solar panel installation will depend on many different factors, from the type of panel you install to the number and size of your solar panels.
Here are some of the factors that will impact the cost of solar panel installation for you.
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Type of Solar Panels
There are actually a few different types of solar panels that you can choose from.
The cost of solar panel installation is going to change depending on which type of solar panels you decide to go with. You can decide to buy:
- Monocrystalline solar panels
- Polycrystalline solar panels
- Thin-film solar panels
You should speak with a solar panel company about which type of solar panels would work best for your home. It’ll bring you one step closer to figuring out how much it’ll cost you to install solar panels and harness the power of solar energy.
Number of Solar Panels
In addition to helping you pick out the right type of solar panels for your home, a solar panel company should also be able to provide you with an overview of how many solar panels you’ll need. This will be based on everything from how much solar power you want solar panels to produce to how much space you have available on your roof for solar panels.
The more solar panels that you’ll need for your roof, the higher the cost of solar panel installation is going to be. But at the same time, you might also be able to produce more solar energy with more solar panels and offset the cost of them.
Size of Solar Panels
Generally speaking, most standard solar panels will be 66 × 40 inches. More often than not, that will be how big the solar panels that are installed on your roof will be.
But there are some solar panel companies out there that specialize in manufacturing solar panels that are bigger or smaller than that. And the price tags on these solar panels will often fluctuate accordingly.
You should make every effort to select the right size solar panels for your home. You should discuss it with your solar panel company and find out how many different size solar panels will run you before making a decision on which ones to choose.
Location of Solar Panels
Are you going to have solar panels installed on a part of your roof that will be easy to access? Or are you going to request that a solar panel company try to get to a portion of your roof that can be easy to get to install solar panels?
If you fall into the first category, the location of your solar panels isn’t going to take too much of a toll on the cost of solar panel installation. But if you fall into the second one, it will likely be a much different story.
A solar panel company is probably going to charge you more to install solar panels on a roof that isn’t easily accessible. The risks that they’ll be taking on to install solar panels for you will come at a cost.
You should consider this prior to having solar panels installed. If you have a roof that is going to be hard to navigate around on, you might end up paying a pretty penny for your new solar panels.
Capabilities of Solar Panels
There are some solar panels that can be used to generate enough electricity to power up a portion of a home. There are other solar panels that can provide more than enough electricity for an entire house.
The capabilities of solar panels will be one of the most important factors when it comes to the cost of solar panel installation. If you’re trying to get your hands on a high-tech system that can produce 5 kilowatts, it’ll cost way more than one that can produce 1 kilowatt.
This is yet another instance in which you should lean on your solar panel company to provide you with details on which system you should go with. They should be able to shed some light on which system will benefit your home the most while still allowing you to stay within your budget.
Installer of Solar Panels
The popularity of solar power has been on the rise in recent years. Many experts are predicting that there is going to be a huge spike in the number of homes with solar panels over the next decade.
Because of this, there are solar panel installation companies popping up all over the place. You should shop around to see which ones will be able to extend the best prices to you.
The cost of solar panel installation through one company is going to be different than the cost of solar panel installation through another one. You might be able to save yourself some money by choosing the right company to install solar panels.
You might also be able to save some money by leasing solar panels versus buying them. But if you can swing it, don’t lease solar panels. It’s a much better idea to buy them outright so that you can benefit from them fully.
Warranty on Solar Panels
Most solar panels are designed to last for at least 25 years. You shouldn’t have to worry about them giving out on you any sooner than that.
But if they do, you should have the protection that a warranty will provide. You should look for solar panels that come with great warranties from the beginning.
Buying solar panels with a great warranty will cost you more than buying solar panels without one. But it’s definitely worth purchasing solar panels with a great warranty just for the peace of mind that will come along with them.
Issues With Solar Panels
In a perfect world, the solar panel installation process would go very smoothly for you from beginning to end. You wouldn’t have to worry about a thing while your solar panel company is putting solar panels in place.
But of course, there are almost always a few issues that might pop up during solar panel installation. Some of these issues may include:
- Your roof needs to be reinforced before solar panels can be installed
- Your solar panels create drainage problems on your roof and need to be adjusted
- Your solar panel wires aren’t easy to run to the interior of your house
Ideally, you won’t have to deal with any of these issues during solar panel installation. But if you do, it could lead to additional costs that you weren’t expecting.
You might also face extra costs if something happens to any of the solar panels that you’re having installed on your roof. If, for instance, one breaks or if one is found to be not working properly, it could slow things down and force you to take on expenses that you weren’t anticipating.
It’s always a good idea to build some extra room into your budget for these unexpected issues. It’ll prevent you from spending way more than you may have planned on solar panels.
See What the Cost of Solar Panel Installation Will Be for You
It can be a little bit difficult to nail down exactly what you’ll have to pay for solar panels. The cost of solar panel installation can vary based on all of the different factors that we just mentioned.
Your job is going to be to shop around for the best possible deal on solar panels when you’re in the market for them. You should be able to keep your costs on the lower end of the spectrum by working with the right solar panel company.
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