How do you know if the sales price on a solar panel is a good deal?
When shopping for a solar panel and you are comparing models from competing sources, there are probably two main considerations:
1. Quality
2. Price
You are on your own for comparing the quality of the solar panels. But for price comparisons, I found a helpful website I would like to share, that shows the going rate for solar panels.
According to SolarBuzz.com, the current price per Watt in the United States is:
$3.47 per Watt
A friend in Texas told me he has an opportunity to buy a 220 Watt solar panel for $450. Is this a good deal?
Let’s calculate the cost per watt so we can see if it is more or less than the going rate.
Since the going rate is $3.47 per Watt, this deal in Texas, at $2.05 per Watt, looks to be priced cheaply.
Price isn’t everything, though. We also should look at the quality. If you find or know of a good resource for comparing quality, let me know.
Update March 22, 2011
The price per Watt is still dropping. It is now down to $3.19 per Watt in the United States. It is getting easier and easier to use solar energy.
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