Labor Costs for Installing Solar Panels

What are the Labor Costs to Install a Solar System?

The rise in incentives and reduction in manufacturing costs is helping manufacturers to offer solar energy system at an affordable price. The solar energy system uses the sun’s energy to generate electricity. The panels contain photovoltaic cells that function in unison. The light that falls on the cells gets converted into usable energy. The panels then direct the energy to the inverter that converts into electricity. For example, a 6kW solar energy system costs around $ 18,000.

First things first

The very first thing to consider is the average electricity utilized by a house. Depending on this, it is possible to come up with the required solar energy plant that generates the needed output. As the need is different for every household, things become complicated. Fortunately, Energy Information Administration published data about the monthly usage. Although the data provided is helpful, there is no data pertaining to freestanding houses in several states of the USA.

Solar panel requirement for an average household

The solar panel requirement to generate electricity changes from one state to another and environmental conditions. Climatic conditions play a crucial role, as they determine how much electricity that a solar panel produces. For instance, sunnier states such as Arizona generate more power when compared with the northeastern states. It, therefore, helps in accessing the cost required for installing the solar energy plant for a household because the prices are by kW. The more the kW requirement, the more the initial investment.

Labor costs for installing solar panels

For a 5kW solar energy system, which comprises of 15 to 25 panels, costs about $30,000. The average labor cost for the installation is $0.59 per Watt. It is about 10% of the total system cost. Therefore, for installation of a 5kW solar energy plant, the labor charges would cost $3,000. The expenses include electrician installation and non-electrician labor costs. Labor costs for installing solar panels vary depending on the conditions, the output of the solar energy plant, and the soft costs. For example, the hardware required for the setup is high in the United States when compared to Germany. Therefore, labor costs in Germany are $0.36 cheaper per Watt than the USA. Although the initial investment is high, over the course of the period, the solar panels save anywhere between $7,000 and $28,000. It depends on the country and the environmental conditions. Receiving a quote will be helpful before choosing an appropriate installer.