3. Take advantage of solar incentives

A maze of tax credits and other incentives are available to help bring down the cost of going solar. The recent Inflation Reduction Act set the federal residential energy tax credit at a whopping 30 percent, and plenty of states also offer money back or some other form of savings. 

A good installer should be up to date and informed on what’s available in your area. SUN also staffs a help desk that’s free to US consumers. Ramsden said there’s a lot of information online of varying quality.

“I would particularly be wary of trusting incentive information that’s coming through a marketing channel like Facebook ads or things of that nature,” he said. “They can often be a little misleading.”

In particular, watch out for any marketing that talks about solar being completely free.

“It should raise flags for you,” Ramsden said. “Anything that you’re engaging within the marketplace is going to have a cost, whether it’s a lease or loan or cash.” 

North Carolina State University maintains a database of state incentives for renewables and efficiency (DSIRE) that can be a good starting place to double-check what’s available in your area. 

4. Low-income solar programs and initiatives

One exception to the rule about avoiding messaging on free solar is if it’s a government program that provides free solar for low-income households. Such programs do exist and the DSIRE site (Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency) is one potential way to verify a program is legit. 

New state and local programs seem to be coming online as funding from the IRA is beginning to filter down to local institutions. Just be sure that any information you consider is coming from a trusted source. You can also read CNET’s guide to avoiding solar scams before signing up for anything that sounds too good to be true. 

5. Consider community solar installations

About half of states have enabled community solar programs, which allow residents to subscribe to an array located elsewhere in their community that is generating electricity, thereby lowering their own cost of power in the form of bill credits from that array. 

“Community solar is by design opening market access to folks that can’t put solar on their roof physically,” said Gilbert Michaud, assistant professor of Environmental Policy at Loyola University Chicago. “They could have an aging roof or be renters, condo owners … It’s about opening access.” 

Michaud says only 25% of people actually have the ability to put panels on their roofs. If the other 75% have an appetite for renewable energy, community solar could be a way to do it. 

Another option is “solarize” programs in which a bunch of neighbors band together to work with one installer to achieve economies of scale, potentially reducing costs by 15-20%. 

6. Affordable solar leases

Leases can be a good option for people who don’t want to take out a loan, don’t have the cash or don’t have an interest in installing their own system. Instead, you can agree to let a company install and maintain an array that they retain ownership of on top of your roof in exchange for leasing that array from the company or agreeing to purchase the power it generates for a fixed cost. The rules that govern exactly how these agreements can be structured vary by state. 

“For folks that really just want to have someone else take care of it and they want cheaper electricity, that is certainly an option,” Ramsden said.

He emphasizes taking a look at all the fine print on a lease or power purchase agreement to be sure you understand precisely which party will be responsible for what during what could be a very long-term partnership with a solar company. 

Michaud added that in the case of a lease, homeowners don’t get the federal tax credit or most other incentives. 

How much do solar panels cost?

Solar costs vary on what type of equipment you choose, how many solar panels you add to your home, location and what installer you choose. The national average cost of a solar system in the US is $18,073 for a 5-kW size system or $3.60 per watt, according to FindEnergy.com. These figures are before factoring in the 30% federal clean energy credit. 

To get an idea of what solar costs look like in each state across the US, here’s a map with the average total cost, system size and cost per watt of solar panels per state using data from FindEnergy.com. The states that are greyed out had no data available. 

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