Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

If you’ve seen our ads, you’ve probably seen the grandma installing solar. It’s satirical, illustrating the relative ease of a solar installation. Our ads have received millions of views and have helped us expose the wrongs of the traditional solar industry.

Whether you go the DIY route like grandma here or opt for a full install, you will optimize your return on investment with Project Solar.

So, what sets Project Solar apart? What is the Project Solar difference? Let's look at the numbers.

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report, the median price for rooftop solar in the United States is about $3.97-$4.18/watt. Project Solar comes in at an average price of $2.30-$2.50/W (fully installed, before incentives), making our offer nearly HALF the price.

Let's put this into perspective: With the average homeowner needing 9.2 kW (9,200 watts), you can save over $15,000!

Current Incentives

The federal government recognizes the external benefits of homeowners going solar. The current incentive gives 30% of the total purchase price back to the consumer in the form of a tax credit.

This incentive brings Project Solar's pricing down as low as $1.61/watt (with DIY, this can be up to 50 cents lower!). The current federal incentives are set to go down in 2033 and completely expire after 2034, making now the perfect time to go solar. Plus, many states and utility companies offer additional incentives. 

The Industry Before Project Solar

Here are some details on how the industry currently works.

Disregarding the more expensive big names, there are many solar companies in the US that simply handle the back-end stages of the process (engineering, equipment, installation, etc). These companies will install solar for close to $2.50/watt. However, they don't sell the systems themselves.

Instead, they let door-knockers do the selling, and allow them to keep anything that they charge on top of the $2.50/watt. This incentivizes the salespeople to charge as much as possible, resulting in a high national average.

With the average solar install being 9 kW (9,000 watts), it’s not hard to calculate commissions: $1.47-$1.68/W.

If we multiply the commission (PPW) by our system size (watts), we get a total commission of $13,230-$15,120 (plus any lender fees).

Does this make you mad? It makes US mad…

Although the traditional solar sales tactics are predatory and unethical, that doesn’t mean that solar is a bad investment--quite the contrary, in fact.

If properly priced, solar can save you a LOT of money.

Here’s an example: After the federal incentive, a 10 kW system from Project Solar with full-service installation would cost just under $17,000. On average, it would produce 48 kWh a day. If you multiply this by 365 (days in a year) and then 25 (years of the warranty period) and factor in an average of 92.5% for degradation, you would have 48*365*25*.925 = 405,150 kWh produced.

If you divide your system's price by its total kWh produced, you would have a total cost of 4¢/kWh. To put this excellent rate into perspective, consider that the average cost per kWh from a traditional electric utility company in the United States is almost 17¢/kWh.

In other words, when priced FAIRLY, your solar build should pay for itself 3 times over by the end of the 25-year warranty period. AND it should keep producing for many years after that.

Project Solar has cut out the commissioned salesman and created an optimized, e-commerce-based model.

No large commissions, just fair and transparent pricing.

Project Solar originally began as a DIY company, with the goal of helping those who were fed-up with the overpriced solar sales bros and wanted to cost effectively do it themselves. It wasn’t long before we started offering full-service, warrantied installation at a fair price of 50-70¢/watt due to high demand.

 

How Do We Do It?

A question people in the industry often ask us is "How can you sell solar at such a low price?" 

It comes down to efficiency.

First, we've moved sales online and optimized our platform for the digital age. Sounds obvious, right? Anything that is being sold door-to-door by adults is going to be overpriced (or extremely unique). Solar is not unique. 

Second, we’ve created an AI to offer salesperson-free quoting. We don't have a single commissioned employee at our company. Our advanced quoting system connects to government databases with detailed information on rooftop sun exposure, local utility rates, and government incentives.

Third, we utilize lidar and satellite technology, as well as pictures you submit, to complete the technical engineering plansets needed for city and utility permitting. 

Lastly, we've partnered with expert installers to offer warrantied installation at a great price across the nation. 

It's time for solar sales to enter the digital age.

If you are interested in getting a quote, we'd love it if you gave our quoting calculator a try - just click here. 

--

Trevor & Matt
Co-Founders

 

P.S. All Project Solar panels, inverters, and racking systems are warrantied for 25 years. If you opt for full service install, we also include a 10-year workmanship warranty that covers any incidents involved in the installation of your solar equipment, including leaks. 

We believe in the intelligence of the average consumer. We encourage you to do your research, compare offers, and learn about the different equipment. Below are a few links that provide further detail on our offer:

Equipment Specifications
Project Solar Warranty Info
Working with Project Solar - Flow Chart