Residential Solar PV Price Index – July 2016

Average residential solar system prices dipped down to $1.63/W this month – on par with the low seen in April this year and close to the all-time low of $1.59/W seen in December of 2015. The price drop occurred across all system sizes. Interestingly, system price ‘highs’ have not come down much, low-end prices of around $1/W are becoming an increasingly common sight. Prices in Perth remain the lowest in the nation, although it is unclear whether these prices are indicative of the broader Perth market or a proclivity of the sample data available to Solar Choice through our installer network.

Average solar PV system prices for July 2016

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).

Average solar PV system prices July 2016

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

Solar system prices per watt July 2016

Historic solar PV system prices (since August 2012)

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.

1.5kW solar system prices July 2016 2kW solar system prices July 2016 3kW solar system prices July 2016 4kW solar system prices July 2016 5kW solar system prices July 2016 10kW solar system prices July 2016

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).

Average solar PV system prices all sizes July 2016

A note about the ‘Solar Choice discount’

From August 2012 until November 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.

Average solar PV system prices all sizes July 2016 - 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.

© 2016 Solar Choice Pty Ltd

Jeff Sykes