Are solar panels too expensive?

Read more: Find out how much solar panels cost. We've worked with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and surveyed more than 1,000 solar panel owners to give you costs by system size, house type and electricity production. Whether you feel that solar panels are 'too expensive' also depends on what you get in return.

How much does a solar panel system cost?

A decade ago a typical solar panel system cost around £20,000 and would take around a decade to cover those set-up costs. But prices for solar panel systems have fallen by more than 60% since then, meaning it takes between four and five years for a system to pay for itself.

What are the hard costs of a solar system?

The hard costs — or hardware costs — of solar include the price of the solar panels, inverters, mounting equipment and wiring, as well as supply chain costs. A 2021 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that hard costs account for 44% of the total costs of a home solar system.

Are solar panels cheap?

Solar panels aren't cheap, but their price has dropped dramatically over the past decade. They can be less expensive than other renewable technology, such as heat pumps, and achieve greater energy bill savings.

Do solar photovoltaic energy benefits outweigh the costs?

This article appears in the Spring 2020 issue of Energy Futures, the magazine of the MIT Energy Initiative. Benefits of solar photovoltaic energy generation outweigh the costs, according to new research from the MIT Energy Initiative.

Do solar panels make a profit?

Profit: Like any other business, solar panel companies need to profit from their products. This added cost varies depending on the company and type of system you are buying, but profit often accounts for around 11% of the cost of solar.