Residential Solar PV Price Index – January 2017

Average solar system prices for the new year continue to hover around $1.62/W, as they have for the past six months or so. Smaller systems (1.5kW – 2kW) continue to be the dearest on a $/W basis, while larger systems (5kW – 10kW) offer the greatest value in terms of peak output capacity. By our numbers, Darwin is the most expensive place to have a system installed, while Perth residents have access to the lowest cost systems.

Average solar PV system prices for January 2017

Prices in the table below include both the up-front incentive available for small-scale systems through the Renewable Energy Target and GST – they represent the total retail cost of the system to the customer. We’ve left fields blank where there were only a small number of price points available in our database (usually less than 3).

Resi average solar system prices Jan 2017

Prices for each system size are colour-coded. (Dark red for highest, dark green for lowest, yellow for middle.)

Solar system prices for January: $/W medians, highs & lows

Resi average solar system prices Jan 2017 per watt

Prices above are colour-coded across highs, lows & medians for all cities and system sizes. (Dark red for highest, dark green for lowest, yellow for middle.)

Historic solar PV system prices (since August 2012)

Resi 1-5kW solar system prices Jan 2017 Resi 2kW solar system prices Jan 2017 Resi 3kW solar system prices Jan 2017 Resi 4kW solar system prices Jan 2017 Resi 5kW solar system prices Jan 2017 Resi 10kW solar system prices Jan 2017

The historic pricing in the tables below does not reflect prices for Darwin, NT. See ‘About this data’ footnote below for a more detailed description of where this data comes from and what it represents.

Resi solar system prices historic colour coded Jan 2017

Colour-coded historic average solar system prices ($/W). (Dark red for highest, dark green for lowest, yellow for middle.)

All $/W solar system prices (Historic)

The chart below provides an at-a-glance look at solar PV system pricing trends since August 2012. Data points are the average of average $/W for each system size (1.5kW-5kW until Nov 2013, then also including 10kW from Dec 2013).

Resi solar system prices indexed Jan 2017

A note about the ‘Solar Choice discount’

From August 2012 until October 2015, calculations for our monthly Residential Solar Price Index articles excluded the discount available through Solar Choice network installers exclusively to Solar Choice customers. From last month we have excluded this figure, which works out to approximately 14c/W in most instances. The chart below retroactively applies this amount to every month since the Price Index’s inception.

Resi solar system prices indexed Jan 2017 disc adj

About this data

Tables and charts included in this article were compiled using data from Solar Choice’s installer network database, which contains regularly-updated pricing and product details from over 100 solar installation companies across Australia. Prices do not ordinarily incorporate meter installation fees or additional costs for difficult installations. ‘Premium’ installer offerings are excluded from calculations. Pricing data from Darwin is not included any of the charts showing historic trends.

© 2017 Solar Choice Pty Ltd

Jeff Sykes