While solar panels will undoubtedly save you money in the long term, you’ll have to fork over some serious cash upfront to get your clean energy adventure started. It would be fantastic if everyone could afford home solar panels (not to mention the environmental impact). However, unfortunately, the barrier to entry still requires you to have some financial privilege.
According to Forbes, solar panels cost, on average, about $12,700, or between $8,500 to $30,500 depending on the type and model. Now, this average cost differs from state to state, taking into consideration factors like local power costs and average household energy consumption. So, depending on where you live (within the United States), the upfront cost to install home solar panels could venture on the “cheaper” side. Still, even then, it’s not readily available to households struggling to make ends meet. South Dakota is the “cheapest” state for solar panels, with an average cost of $10,192, while Massachusetts “reigns supreme” as the most expensive state at $15,162.
Of course, the company you choose and the model you want to install also affect how much home solar panels could cost you. Either way, the steep upfront cost could stop some households from investing in renewable energy, and there’s one crucial factor that plays into the price, which brings us to our second reason why solar panels might not be worth installing.
