How Much Do Solar Panels Cost in Georgia? (2024 Savings Guide)

How Do Georgia’s Solar Prices Compare to the National Average?

The average price per watt for solar equipment in Georgia is around $3.29, which is just below the national average of $3.33. That means your money will go further in Georgia than it will in most other states, and systems of equivalent size will be more affordable in the Peach State than most others.

However, since Georgians use more electricity than residents in most states, they also need larger solar arrays to offset that consumption. Overall, that means more expensive solar power systems.

The average total cost for a solar energy system in Georgia is $25,333 after the federal tax credit, which is almost $5,000 above the national average of $20,979. The average pre-credit cost of $36,190 is close to $6,000 over the national average of $29,970.

What Are the Main Factors of Solar System Costs in Georgia?

Most solar power systems in Georgia will cost between $18,424 and $32,242 after the federal credit. The range is so large because there are a bunch of factors that affect the size of the system you need and the cost per watt. These include the following in Georgia:

• Your monthly energy demands
• Whether or not you choose solar batteries
• The efficiency of your panels

We’ll explain how and why each of these factors plays a role in your system pricing in the following sections.

High Energy Demands in Georgia

One of the most significant cost factors when it comes to solar panel systems in Georgia is the number of panels you need, which is determined by the wattage per panel and how high your monthly energy consumption is.

The average home in Georgia consumes around 1,081 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month, which is much higher than the national average of 881 kWh. If you have a below-average rate of consumption, then you can get away with fewer panels and still offset your energy bills. Installing fewer panels translates to a lower installation cost.

For example, a Georgia property owner that uses an average of 800 kWh per month will spend nearly $15,000 less on their system than a resident that uses the upper end of the average consumption — 1,400 kWh per month.

Georgia’s Lack of Net Metering and Solar Batteries

Georgia is one of the few states that doesn’t have a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) goal, which is a big reason why net metering — also called net energy metering or NEM — isn’t mandated in the state. Some companies like Georgia Power have offered alternatives, but access is limited.

Net metering lets you bank excess power produced by your panels and offset consumption when your panels fail to produce, like at night or on cloudy days. NEM is a massively beneficial incentive, especially in states like Georgia with above-average energy needs. Unfortunately, only a small number of residents will have access from their utility companies.

Solar batteries are a popular add-on product in Georgia because they give you access to effective net metering. You can store free solar energy for use when your panels stop producing, maximizing your savings over time. This is particularly beneficial in areas with higher energy costs, like Atlanta.

Batteries also let you maintain power through blackouts, which are common in Georgia due to the extreme weather. They come with the added perk of improving your home value as well.

Solar batteries will increase the initial cost of your rooftop solar project by $10,000 or more in most cases, but they can provide even greater savings over the life of your system. We recommend installing solar batteries to get access to effective net metering and greater savings in the long run.

Choosing a More Efficient Panel Brand in Georgia

Georgia residents enjoy around 218 sunny days per year, which is above average in the U.S.

In areas where sunlight is readily available, homeowners can either choose low-efficiency polycrystalline panels — since the abundant sunlight will still likely mean savings over time — or high-efficiency, monocrystalline panels — to get the best chance of eliminating energy bills and maximizing their production.

Choosing a panel brand with a higher efficiency rating, like high-performance SunPower panels, will usually lead to higher solar panel installation prices. However, over time, high-efficiency panels will offset more of your energy bills and can lead to a faster panel payback period and greater savings overall.

Ultimately, you can reduce your upfront installation costs by choosing a less efficient panel brand, or you can maximize your long-term savings by choosing a more efficient panel brand. We recommend going with high-efficiency panels, as they are more beneficial over time, especially in a sunny state like Georgia.

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Additional Costs of Going Solar in Georgia

The actual panels you install will often make up the bulk of your solar conversion costs, but there are some other things you’ll need to pay for that can affect your pricing. We’ll explain where some additional costs might come from below.

• Additional solar equipment: Solar batteries are a popular option in Georgia and are highly recommended to help customers save the most money on their electric bills over time. Additionally, the state’s plan to increase the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) is making EV chargers a more popular add-on. Both of these add-ons will drive up your upfront costs, although they often save you money over time. Some smaller pieces of equipment — like inverters, wiring and conduit — will also affect your total.

• Building permits: All municipalities in Georgia will require that building permits are filed and approved before a photovoltaic (PV) system can be installed. Building permits typically come with filing fees that will be passed onto you, usually between $50 and $300.

• Interconnection fees: Grid-tied systems are preferred by most over off-grid systems, as they let you pull energy from the grid when your panels aren’t producing sufficient energy. Most utility companies will charge a small fee — between $25 and $150 in most cases — for the interconnection application and inspection fee.

• Administrative fees and markup: Your cost will also depend on your installer, as each of the 75+ installers in the state will charge different fees for product markup and administration activities, like helping you file for Georgia solar incentives.

Watch Below: What Should You Know About Recent Changes to the Solar Tax Credit?

What Maintenance Costs Can Solar Owners Expect in Georgia?

While installing solar in Georgia is undeniably expensive, the initial cost is very often the only one you’ll have, as there are virtually no ongoing maintenance costs.

Solar customers in some states might opt to pay for solar panel cleaning to clear pollen, dirt and other build-up off of the panels’ surface to maximize efficiency and production. However, Georgians see above-average rainfall each year, which should keep panels plenty clean.

Most solar installers in Georgia also include a lengthy warranty with installed systems that keeps you insulated from expensive repair costs if something goes wrong.

Which Solar Financing Options Will Help You Save the Most in Georgia?

Generally speaking, there are four main solar financing options from which you can choose, including a cash purchase, a solar loan, a solar lease and a power purchase agreement (PPA).

Paying in cash is the most beneficial option, as it will yield the greatest savings over the life of your system and pay for itself faster than any other option. However, it’s the least accessible, especially given the above-average initial cost you’d have to pay at once in Georgia.

A solar loan is our next recommended option. You will pay interest, which will lengthen your payback period and cut into your savings, but financing your solar array is more realistic because most financiers offer no-money-down loan options. Plus, loans can typically cover solar batteries as well, which are a popular but expensive add-on option in Georgia.

Leases are a decent option if you can’t afford a cash purchase and won’t qualify for a loan. These require no money down in most cases, as well as less strict credit requirements than loans. However, leases save you much less over time, and they don’t let you take the federal credit — an average value of over $10,800 in Georgia.

We generally don’t recommend PPAs because they share the same downsides as leases, but they save even less, on average. Plus, leases have about the same accessibility.

If you’re looking for a solar panel installer in Georgia that provides access to all of these payment options, we recommend checking out SunPower, one of the best solar panel installers in the state. SunPower is one of the few major installers that services the entire state and accepts all four payment options.

Alternatively, you can use our solar calculator to figure out what a solar energy system would cost for your home and then decide which of the payment options you can make work. The table below provides a quick side-by-side look at how the four options compare when it comes to overall savings, initial costs and more.

What Are Other Ways You Can Save When Going Solar in Georgia?

Since solar panel systems in Georgia are so expensive, most homeowners will look for ways to bring upfront costs down as much as possible. There are some money-saving tips you can use when going solar in Georgia, including the following:

• Install a solar battery
• Take advantage of solar incentives
• Choose your panel brand carefully

We’ll explain how each of these strategies can save you money and approximately how much each will save you in the following sections.

Install a Solar Battery

As we mentioned above, Georgia doesn’t mandate net metering for its residents, as many other states do. Since net metering lets you bank excess energy for later use at no cost, having access to the program lets you offset expensive electricity even when your panels aren’t generating sufficient power for your home.

For example, many Georgians use air conditioners at night to keep their homes cool and comfortable, especially in the hot summers. That energy use will be charged as any other energy usage because of the lack of net metering. Having access to net metering means you could offset that consumption if you overproduced during the day.

Installing a solar battery alongside your panels gives you access to effective net metering, ultimately saving you money on all energy you consume when your panels aren’t producing. You can store power when you generate more than you use and then call on that energy at no cost whenever you would otherwise pay for power from the grid.

Adding just one solar battery to your home in Georgia will cost between $4,000 and $12,000 in most cases, but we feel that the majority of residents will see even greater savings from the battery over time.

Take Advantage of Solar Incentives

Unfortunately, Georgia doesn’t have many statewide solar perks you can use to reduce installation costs, but that only means that the ones that are available are all the more important.

The federal investment tax credit, for example, can effectively save you an average of $10,857 on your system total, provided you owe enough in income taxes to take the full amount.

There are also some local incentives you might be eligible for, including a solar rebate for some Jackson EMC customers — an average rebate of $2,500 — and a loan program from Central Georgia EMC — which can save hundreds by offering low interest rates on your solar loans.

Choose Your Panel Brand Carefully

Finally, we recommend you put some time and thought into choosing a solar panel brand. Each installer in your area might carry different brands, and we recommend paying particular attention to the efficiency rating.

Panels with a higher efficiency rating will make better use of the abundant sunlight in Georgia and should offset more of your power bills. Over time, this can lead to savings on the order of hundreds of dollars.

Alternatively, you can choose a panel with a lower energy efficiency. This will save you less money over the lifespan of your panels, but your initial costs will be lower.

We recommend a higher efficiency for the savings, especially since residents in Georgia have higher energy demands than most Americans.

What Are the Typical Costs of Georgia’s Solar Installers?

Your cost of solar panels in Georgia will depend, to some extent, on the specific installer you choose. Each installation company can charge different prices for the labor and administrative work, and products can be marked up at different percentages at the installer’s discretion.

The table below provides a side-by-side look at how some of the best solar companies in Georgia compare based on pricing and some other factors.

How Are Solar Costs and Regulations Trending In Georgia?

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the typical total system price in Georgia has gone down by 53% in the past decade. This dramatic dip in pricing is likely due to improved manufacturing techniques and mass production facilities, which have been becoming more prevalent the demand within the solar industry increases across the U.S.

We expect the price to continue to drop in the future, although it’s impossible to say how much or over what time frame.

As far as solar regulations in Georgia, we don’t foresee anything changing. As of right now, there are no statewide financial perks aside from the federal solar tax credit. The only statewide solar incentives are the solar easement laws, which help all Georgia homeowners maintain access to the solar energy that hits their properties.

If something were to change, we would expect — and hope — that it would be the addition of a statewide net metering program, even if the net metering credits were offered at below-retail rates. Unfortunately, we don’t expect this to happen unless the state sets an RPS goal, for which there is no current plan.

With the recent dip in equipment costs and no new incentives on the horizon, there has never been a better time to go solar, especially since electricity rates are expected to rise in the future. You can use the tool below to get free solar quotes for your home solar system to take advantage of renewable energy today.

The cost information presented in this article is derived from a comprehensive analysis, incorporating data from multiple industry sources. The average cost per watt per state was calculated based on figures from Consumer Affairs, Energy Sage, and Berkeley Lab’s Electricity Markets & Policy Department. Additionally, monthly energy consumption and the average monthly cost of electricity were sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, ensuring a well-rounded and accurate representation of the information presented.