The installation price of residential PV systems in Germany is lower than the price in the US, according to the results of a survey conducted by researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Data collated from the survey — which reviewed 41 German solar installers in October 2012 and compared the results with a previous NREL survey of 56 US installers — revealed that the cheaper cost was primarily due to lower non-hardware or “soft” costs in Germany.
Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis
Photovoltaics International is now included.
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
- Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
- Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Soft costs for residential solar in the US were US$2.72 per watt higher than in Germany with soft costs in Germany averaging at US$0.62 while those in the US averaged at US$3.34.
The lower pricing in Germany is a result of several factors including the fact that German residential PV installations tend to be larger than those in US which means that German installers may benefit from economies of scale. Other factors include lower hardware component and customer acquisition costs, shorter installation times, lower installation labour costs, and no sales tax on residential PV systems.
