Is Now the Best Time to Buy Residential Solar Panels?
If you’ve been thinking about installing solar panels on your home, then if you’re like most homeowners, price is one of your biggest concerns. But if you have been researching solar panels, then you’ve also probably noticed a lot of buzz about prices lately.
For the past decade, the cost of residential solar systems has fallen dramatically — but many homeowners often find themselves hesitating to buy because they’re all asking the same question: Are solar panels as cheap as they’re gonna’ get?
Let’s explore what’s driving current solar costs, where prices could head next, and what that means for homeowners trying to decide when to make the switch to solar.
The Decade-Long Decline in Solar Costs
Over the past 10 to 15 years, residential solar costs have plummeted. In fact, they’ve dropped by more than 70% since 2010, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy. Several factors drove this drop:
- Technological advances made solar panels more efficient and longer-lasting.
- Mass production in the U.S., China, and other manufacturing hubs reduced per-unit costs.
- Incentives and tax credits, such as the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC), helped offset installation expenses.
- Better financing options made it easier for homeowners to afford solar through loans, leases, and power purchase agreements (PPAs).
These trends combined to make solar power accessible to more households than ever before, turning what was once a niche, high-cost product into a mainstream home improvement.
The Solar Panel Price Plateau May Be Here
In recent years, however, those steep cost drops have slowed. Prices for solar panels and equipment flattened, and in some cases even increased, between 2021 and 2024. This was largely caused by supply chain disruptions and shipping delays, which increased equipment costs during and after the pandemic.
More recently, tariffs on imported panels and materials have forced some costs to be much higher than expected, and labor costs for skilled installers have also risen along with broader construction wages.
However, while new challenges continue to arise and the days of double-digit annual price declines may be over, solar is still relatively affordable. And its return on investment (ROI) remains strong in most regions.
The Future: Will Solar Get Any Cheaper?
So, can homeowners expect another major drop in solar costs in the next few years? Probably not, at least not across the board.
Here’s why:
- Material costs (like silicon, aluminum, and glass) have stabilized but aren’t expected to fall much further.
- Labor and permitting costs make up a growing portion of total system expenses, and those aren’t easily reduced by technology.
- Module efficiency improvements are now incremental. This means that manufacturers will be likely to be more focused on boosting performance and lifespan, than just cutting price.
That said, certain innovations could continue to reduce your costs over time. For instance, next-gen technologies such as perovskite solar cells could make future panels more efficient and cheaper to produce. Energy storage integration (solar + battery packages) may also become more affordable as lithium-ion battery prices drop. Streamlined permitting and digital design tools could also come into play, thus cutting soft costs for installers and saving homeowners money indirectly.
So, while the panels themselves might not get significantly cheaper soon, the overall system cost, which includes installation and operation, could very well improve thanks to efficiency gains and process innovations.
Why Waiting Might Not Pay Off
Even if solar prices dip slightly, the potential savings might not outweigh the benefits of installing now. For starters, the longer you wait, the more utility bills you’re paying without solar offsetting them.
In addition, here are some additional factors that might be worth considering:
- The federal tax credit remains high. Through 2032, homeowners can claim 30% of total solar installation costs as a tax credit — a major financial advantage.
- Utility rates keep rising. Every year your local electricity provider increases rates, your potential solar savings grow.
- Net metering benefits may not last forever. Some states are scaling back credits for excess power fed into the grid, so acting now can lock in more favorable rates.
Simply put: while prices might not drop as dramatically as they have in the past, today’s combination of incentives and energy savings makes now one of the most cost-effective times to go solar.
Residential solar panels may have reached a price plateau, but that’s not a bad thing. Today’s systems are more efficient, reliable, and financially attractive than ever. Even if future price drops are modest, rising energy costs and strong tax incentives make solar a smart long-term investment.
If you’ve been waiting for solar panels to hit rock bottom before buying, then this might be as cheap as they’re gonna’ get. Do yourself a favor and contact a local solar installer to find out how much you can save by installing sooner rather than later.