$3.60/watt
Solar Panels. The solar panels themselves usually account for about 30% of total costs. Residential solar panels with a combined capacity of 3-8kW typically cost between $4,000-$16,000. The best solar panels are not necessarily the most expensive. The final costs of a solar system is highly dependent on where you live and what rebates, tax credits and grants you are eligible for. In some situations, total costs can be cut well above 50%, and homeowners are able to go solar for only few thousand dollars. Everyone receives at least a 30% federal tax credit. With Wholesale Solar’s current pricing (Jan. 2015), a medium sized gridtie system that generates about 815 kWh a month would cost about $10,500 BEFORE the 30% federal tax credit and rebates offered by your state or utility company. Wholesale Solar is 100% employee-owned! Figuring out exactly how much your solar system will cost can take a little detective work. Electricity rates vary, and each state has different rebates that may affect the overall price of your system. The average system costs a little over $10,000 1. The average cost of solar panels has gone from $76.67/watt in 1977 to just $0.698/watt today (the second figure is according to PVinsights, and is even lower than the 2013 projected price in the chart below). Data Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Chart Source: Unknown. OK, “everything” is a strong word, but the following charts on the cost of solar panels should be super useful to you. Of course, to get a very specific cost of solar panels estimate for your own home, just spend about 60 seconds answering a few question at the link above and we can hook you up with this in a jiffy. The bulk of the price of going solar is now the “soft costs” (installation, permitting, etc.) rather than the solar panel cost. Again referencing the latest US Solar Market Insight report, the average installed cost of a residential solar panel system was $4.72/watt. However, prices vary tremendously by region. “Common residential system prices ranged from less than $3.00/W to just above $7.00/W,” the Solar Energy Industries Association writes. The total price of a system, of course, varies tremendously based on the size of your roof and your electricity needs. The latest US Solar Market Insight report (from Q3) put the price at $0.70/watt. A report from REC Solar shows that the price in Q2 as a bit higher — about $0.73/watt. Still, the price is very low compared to 2008 or 2009, and insanely low compared to 2000. The cost of production today. Deutsche notes that total module costs of leading Chinese solar companies have decreased from around $1.31 a watt in 2011 to around $0.50/W in 2014. It says this was primarily due to the reduction in processing costs, the fall in polysilicon costs and improvement in conversion efficiencies.  This metric indicates costs relative to electrical power output. The cost of solar panels have decreased significantly over the last decade and are currently selling for under $0.70/W in industrial quantities. For homeowners, this translates to about $1.5/W. The final costs of a solar system is highly dependent on where you live and what rebates, tax credits and grants you are eligible for. In some situations, total costs can be cut well above 50%, and homeowners are able to go solar for only few thousand dollars. Everyone receives at least a 30% federal tax credit. A typical residential solar PV panel system in the U.S. costs $3.60/watt after installation, and the solar panels typically save the customer over $20,000 (net) over the course of 20 years. Learn more about the many advantages of solar energy. 
http://energyinformative.org/solar-panels-cost/ http://www.wholesalesolar.com/solar-information/solar-cost http://costofsolar.com/cost-of-solar-panels-10-charts-tell-you-everything/ http://cleantechnica.com/2014/02/04/current-cost-solar-panels/ http://cleantechnica.com/2015/01/29/solar-costs-will-fall-40-next-2-years-heres/ http://energyinformative.org/solar-panels-cost/ http://costofsolar.com/
cost of solar