How much do home solar panels cost in Pennsylvania in 2024?

Currently in May of 2024, the average solar panel system costs $3.31/W including installation in Pennsylvania. For a 10 kW installation, this comes to about $33,217 before incentives, but prices can vary between $30,476 to $47,005. After the federal tax credit, the average price drops by 30%.

Average price of a 10-kW solar panel installation in Pennsylvania

You could even pay less than shown here. It doesn’t include the federal ITC or Pennsylvania state incentives, which will lower this price but doesn’t factor in considerations like financing fees.

What does energy cost in Pennsylvania?

What does energy cost if you do nothing in Pennsylvania? This is important because whether you go solar or not you will have a cost. If you have a $300 bill today, you will be looking at over $90,000 over the next 25 years that will be paid to your utility company.

Your total solar panel cost depends on your system’s total size.

It may seem obvious but larger solar panel systems cost more money. In this article we will discuss cost per watt ($/W) so you can easily understand the cost of a small or big system, controlling for differences in system size.

While a 10-kW system will only cost you $33,476 in Pennsylvania, doubling the system size effectively doubles the price, so you’ll pay about twice that for a 20 kW system. The higher the price tag, though, the more you’ll get back as a credit towards your federal tax bill.

Average solar cost by system size in Pennsylvania

Note: Solar panel cost listed is before additional cost considerations such as financing fees, additional services such as main service panel upgrades, transformer upgrades, batteries, or any number of additional considerations that are unique to each home.

Are solar panels worth it in Pennsylvania?

Solar panels are worth it in most states surprisingly even northern states, including Pennsylvania. A wide range of factors from the cost of energy to local incentives and the home itself such as roof direction and pitch relative to climate will determine how fast a homeowner can see net returns on their investment relative to other areas around the U.S.

See how the cost of solar electricity in Pennsylvania compares to other states

If you pay for your system with cash, you’ll save about $56,200 over 25 years on electricity costs with a 10 kW system in Pennsylvania. We generate this estimate based on the most recent price hikes in electric rates in Pennsylvania against a standard bill. It considers your system’s cost, the federal tax credit, and ignores inflation. If inflation is considered, the savings are even higher.

Can I afford solar panels in Pennsylvania?

If you don’t have 34,000 sitting around to spend on solar in cash, don’t worry. You can choose to finance your system instead with a solar loan or lease your system and purchase it later. Some options even offer $0 down to start. Keep in mind the long-term savings will be affected by financing but are competitive when compared to the cost of renting monthly electricity from the utility company.

What affects the cost of solar panels in Pennsylvania?

System size:

Naturally, the larger your solar panel system, the more expensive the solar panel cost will be. You will not typically save money on a larger system, and they are typically sized to your needs for your household consumption. It is quite common to downsize a system to better fit your needs. Larger systems may need larger battery backup options to fully meet their production capacity if a consumer opts for an optional battery backup.

Equipment makes and models:

Different equipment has different prices. Premium equipment will fetch a premium price as well as different system additions will raise your price. Home electrical upgrades, optional battery backup options, certain racking options may raise your price. When considering such an expensive home improvement project as solar, it is often worth it to spend the extra money for some items. Cheap equipment can often be twice the price over the top-of-the-line options overall.

Solar Panel Type:

Monocrystalline panels can generate more energy but can have much higher prices compared to polycrystalline panels or thin-film panels, which are generally used for DIY projects or recreational vehicles.

Your Home:

The age, orientation, and condition of your home can affect your cost to go solar. Tree work, roof age, and electrical system age can all be big factors for cost in a home solar system. Other factors include roof direction, steepness, roof type, how many stories your home has, and what the utility company can accommodate.

Take advantage of federal and local solar incentives

Solar for your home is a major home improvement project of a large, but you can get the price tag to come down a bit by being an educated shopper. Taking advantage of incentives and understanding your local market incentives can save you thousands of dollars.

If you pay federal taxes, you can take advantage of the federal tax credit in Pennsylvania or any other state. This allows you to apply a 30% tax credit to the cost of the entire home solar panel system. If the amount of the credit exceeds your tax bill, you can roll over into the remaining credit to the following year.

Many states also offer great local incentives and rebates of which Pennsylvania has many options to save further. Pennsylvania has a solar renewable energy credit system available to consumers. Also known as SREC. In Pennsylvania this is about $460 per year for a 10 kW home solar panel system. Over 25 years that is an additional $11,000 you might qualify for which drops the overall cost of solar panels dramatically.