Despite slightly higher prices, findings show that buyers have myriad choices and strong preferences for paired modules/inverter; shoppers are interested in storage–where choices abound, but three stalwarts remain.
EnergySage released its fourteenth semi-annual Solar Marketplace Intel Report, which covers pricing, equipment, and consumer preference trends in the US residential solar and energy storage industries. The data in the report comes from quotes sent to homeowners shopping on EnergySage.com in 2021 for solar panels and batteries from solar companies in 37 states and Washington, DC.
A few of the key findings include: the price of solar increased, buyers have choices and strong preferences for paired modules/inverter, and shoppers showed a strong interest in energy storage, and while battery prices rose–three stalwarts remain while six manufacturers offer batteries below the $1,000/kWh stored threshold.
Price Increase
For the first time since 2014 when EnergySage began tracking prices, the quoted price of solar increased. The minor (0.4%) increase from $2.67/W to $2.68/W between the first and second halves of 2021 is though to likely be due to the effects of supply chain constraints and shortages.
“With solar prices on the rise, albeit slightly, the data in this latest report really speaks to the importance of, and the levels of, transparency, competition, and comparison-shopping offered on EnergySage,” said EnergySage CEO and founder Vikram Aggarwal.
Equipment Preference
The request for quotes on specific equipment pairing was strong. Silfab
remains the most quoted panel brand in the most states, while Enphase remains the most quoted inverter brand.
Energy Storage Interest
In 2021, the number of shoppers who installed energy storage with solar climbed 4% to 13%, and that is after 70% of all shoppers inqired about storage. The installed cost of energy storage quoted on EnergySage increased 5% between the first and second halves of 2021 to $1,289 per kWh stored. Most storage shoppers receive a quote for a single battery with either 10 or 13kWh of storage capacity, with the median installed cost of a battery quote on EnergySage at $13,000 in the second half of the year.
Battery Prices
Of the 22 different battery brands quoted at least once on EnergySage in the second half of the year, Enphase, LG Energy Solution and Tesla were the three most quoted options. Tesla remains the lowest cost option on a $/kWh stored basis. However, a half dozen other brands of batteries were quoted below the $1,000 per kWh stored threshold in the second half of 2021, albeit at a lower quote volume: Homegrid Energy, BYD Battery Box, Growatt, Tigo Energy, Fortress Power, and Q CELLS.
Other data includes the finding that the primary reason for shopping for storage is financial savings as opposed to the previous goal of resiliency. Further data points include the price distribution for residential solar–which states have the highest and lowest prices.
