Costs of Solar Panels in Utah
Solar Panels in Utah: Pricing, Savings, and Financial Benefits
Key Details
- The average cost of solar panels in Utah is $2.65 per watt, surpassing the US average of $2.93.
- Solar installation costs range from $11,262 to $15,238 for 5 to 6 kW panels.
- Monocrystalline panels are recommended for home use, offering efficiency, versatility, and a 25-year warranty.
How Much Do Solar Panels Cost in Utah?
As of 2024, solar installations in Utah fall within the range of $11,262 to $15,238 for a 5 to 6kW system. On average, solar installations cost around $13,250 or $2.65 per watt—lower than the national average which stands at $15,000 to $25,000 per 5kW.
The table below shows the cost of solar panels in Utah in relation to solar panel size, and size of the home.
Average Solar Panel Cost in Utah
| Size | Solar Panel Installation Cost | System Installation Cost After Solar Credit | Home Size |
| 3 kW | $7,950 | $5,962.50 | <1,00 sq ft |
| 5 kW | $13,250 | $9,937.50 | <1,000 sq ft |
| 8 kW | $21,200 | $15,900 | 1,100 sq ft |
| 9 kW | $23,850 | $17,887.50 | 1,300 sq ft |
| 11 kW | $29,150 | $21,862.50 | 1,700 sq ft |
| 13 kW | $34,450 | $25,837.50 | 2,100 sq ft |
| 14 kW | $37,100 | $27,825 | 2,300 sq ft |
| 15 kW | $39,750 | $29,812.50 | >2,400 sq ft |
6.40% of the Beehive State’s electricity is generated from solar energy.
Do all Solar Panels Produce the Same Energy?
No, solar panels do not all produce the same energy. Production of energy in solar panels varies mainly due to the panel’s wattage rating. Other factors that affect the capacity of a panel include the temperature, energy conversion efficiency, climatic conditions, the orientation, operation, monitoring and maintenance.
Is it Better to Lease or Buy in Utah?
Both options offer good results, depending on your financial situation. If you do not have enough money to buy, own and maintain a solar electricity system and still need the services of solar energy, leasing will be your preferred option. This option entails a monthly payment to the solar panel provider. The provider in turn would be responsible for the installation and maintenance of the solar electricity system.
However, buying gives you full ownership of the solar panel. If you’re buying solar panels, the average solar payback period in Utah is estimated to be around 10 years. The Solar Payback Period refers to the amount of time taken to re-earn the initial solar investment.
So, if you spend $13,000 on installing your solar panel, it would only take you around 10 years to regain your investment.
How Many Solar Panels Do I Need in Utah?
An average Utah home will need 17 to 21 solar panels to cover the total electricity usage. However, the exact number of panels you will need to install, however, depends on a variety of factors including panel efficiency, panel rated power, personal consumption habits and geographic location. When calculating the number of solar panels you need, consider the following factors:
Annual Electricity Usage: This is the average amount of electricity your home consumes per year. You can find this by checking your electric metre. However, according to estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, each household uses an average of 106,322 kWh of electricity per year.
Solar Panel Wattage: This is the electricity output of a specific solar panel in perfect condition. Most solar panels wattage range from 300 to 400 watts. There are however some that produce more electricity.
Production Ratio: This is the ratio of a solar panel system’s estimated energy output over time to its actual system size. This ratio mainly depends on the hours of sunlight your solar panel will get. Once again, that depends on your geographic location. Luckily, Utah is ranked as the 9th sunniest state in the U.S and has an annual sunshine of 4887kJ/, which is very good for solar panels. The Beehive State also has an average of 238 sunny days which is more than the national average of 205 days.
Once you have gotten the value for all these factors, the formula to calculate how many solar panels you will need is:
System size / Production ratio / Panel wattage = Number of solar panels
How Many solar panels do I need for a 3-bedroom house?
If you live in a 3-bedroom house in Utah, you will need approximately 26 solar panels (or enough to cover 2,300 square feet). However the exact number of solar panels required is still based on your energy consumption rate (number of individuals residing in the house vis-a-vis the kind of appliances used) and the amount of hours of sunlight your solar panels will receive. With this at the back of our mind, let's put the formula above to the test:
The average electricity customer in Utah will consume 11,028 kWh per year. The average number of people living in a 3-bedroom house in Utah is 3.This would mean that the annual energy consumption of that household will be calculated to be 33,084 kWh.
Now that the annual electricity usage has been determined, the next stage is to determine the production ratio. Let’s assume that we are working with a 300 watt solar panel. A 10 kW system under perfect conditions can produce 45 kWh making the production ratio 4.5 (this can vary depending on the amount of sunlight received).
So, using the formula to calculate, 33,084 kWh / 4.5 / 300 W will give us 24.5. This means that the 3-bedroom home will need approximately 25 solar panels to run.
How Many Solar Panels Do I Need for a 4-bedroom house?
The amount of solar panels needed for a 4-bedroom house in Utah will depend on the number of people living in the household and the consumption habits of the household.
For example; if 5 people are living in this 4-bedroom house, to get the number of solar panels needed, you will calculate the annual household electricity consumption. That would be 11,028 kWh (average annual electricity customer consumption in Utah) multiplied by 5 which is 55,140 kWh.
Then you divide 55,140 by 4.5 (production ratio of the solar panel). The result which you get from this division will be further divided by 300 W (solar panel wattage). The result is the number of solar panels required to service your 4-bedroom house. The calculation is as shown below:
55,140 / 4.5 / 300 kW = 40.8
Therefore, approximately 41 solar panels will meet the energy demands of an average 4-bedroom house in Utah
How Big of a Solar System do I need to go Off-Grid in Utah?
To calculate the number of solar panels needed to go off-grid in Utah, you'll need to consider multiple factors, such as the average electricity consumption, available roof space, amount of daily direct sunlight and your preferred solar panel choice.
Here are a few steps to take when planning on going Off-Grid using Solar Energy;
Step 1: Determine how much Electricity you use
To determine how much electricity you use on an annual basis, compare previous electric bills up to a year. Lets say the average off-grid home requires 7 kW of power daily. The monthly energy consumption will be 210 kW while the annual figure will be 2520 kW per year.
Step 2 : Find out the Amount of Direct Sunlight your Location/State Receives
Utah receives 4887kJ/of sunlight yearly and has an annual number of sunny days at 238. Utah is said to receive 4.4 to 5.5 hours of peak sunlight. This ranks Utah as one of the states with the highest solar potential in the United States of America.
Step 3 : Calculate/Estimate the Size of the Solar Panel System Needed to go Off-Grid
To do this you will determine the average amount of peak sunlight Utah gets per month which is about 165 hours. Then you will divide your monthly energy consumption by your monthly peak sunlight hours. If we go by the estimate in Step 1 above, that will be 210 divided by 165 equals to 1.4. This means that in this case a 1.4 kW system will be ideal for you to go completely off grid.
Step 4 : Calculate the number of Solar Panels you will be needing to go Off-Grid
To calculate the number of solar panels you’d need, you should note that solar panels vary in sizes. Usually, the larger the solar panel, the higher the performance of the solar panel. This is where your roof size comes into consideration.
The average roof size of a home in the United States of America is 1,700 square feet. So if you're going to use a 400 Watt solar panel system which measures at a rough estimate of 79 x 39 x 1.4 inches, you will need an estimation of 10 panels to meet up with your average annual off-grid energy requirements of 2520 kW. These 10 panels in totality will take up a space of about 214 square feet of the roof space.
Here is a table below of a 200 Watt solar panel system to give you an idea of the relationship between the size of the solar electrical system, number of panels, the space the system would consume and the cost.
| System Size | Number of Panels | Estimated Space | Estimated Cost |
| 5 kW | 26 panels | 289 sq. ft | $13,780 |
| 10 kW | 52 panels | 578 sq. ft | $27,560 |
| 20 kW | 105 panels | 1,168 sq. ft | $55,650 |
| 50 kW | 255 panels | 2,838 sq. ft | $135,150 |
| 100 kW | 510 panels | 5,676 sq. ft | $270,300 |
| 200 kW | 1020 panels | 11,352 sq. ft | $540,600 |
Which Type of Solar Panel is best for Home Use in Utah.
The Monocrystalline solar panel is the best for home use but it costs more when compared to the other main solar panel types. These other panel types include; the Polycrystalline solar panels (also known as Multi-crystalline) and the Thin-film solar panels.
The Polycrystalline solar panels are considered to be the most economical of the trio while the Thin-film solar panels are the best for unconventional roofing systems.
Some the general advantages and disadvantages of each type of solar panel are stated below;
Monocrystalline Solar Panels
These are the most efficient and the go-to option for solar investors looking to maximise solar energy as they have high efficiency and performance rates. They also come in a wide variety of sizes and can be used in both big and small solar installation projects.
Advantages
- They have a production warranty of up to 25 years.
- Minimal space is required for installation of monocrystalline solar panels in comparison to the other solar panel types.
Disadvantages
- Monocrystalline solar panels attract higher costs than other solar panel options.
- They are generally not good when in cold climates as snowfall can cause the system to fail.
Polycrystalline Solar Panels
Polycrystalline panels are made up of multiple pure silicon crystals fused together through melting.
Advantages
- They are more ecologically friendly as less waste is produced during the melting process.
- They are cheaper than the monocrystalline variant.
- They are durable and can last for a long time.
Disadvantages
- They are less efficient because of the lower purity of silicon used in its production.
- They are usually bigger than monocrystalline solar panels.
Thin-film Solar Panels:
These kinds of solar panels are much more mobile and pliable than the other two solar panel choices because they are not as heavy. They are mostly used for customers who do not need to produce so much power due to their lack of efficiency.
Advantages
- Production cost is cheaper than the monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels.
- Due to their flexibility, they are ideal for solar transportation implementations. For example, they can be installed on the roof of cold storage trucks to power refrigerators.
- They are considerably cheaper for purchase.
Disadvantages
- They are weak so can be easily destroyed by harsh conditions.
- They are not the best for household or commercial use because due to their lack of efficiency a good number of panels have to be installed to produce a considerable amount of energy, this in essence is not good for management of rooftop spaces.
Can you run a House Solely on Solar Panels in Utah?
Yes, you can run your house solely on solar panels in the State of Utah. To do this effectively you will need to calculate the amount of energy you consume. Then calculate the amount of solar energy you need to produce to meet your energy requirements totally. Once these pieces of information have been found out, you can then calculate the amount of solar panels you will need to adequately produce enough energy.
After making this calculation, you’ll also need to take into consideration your region’s climatic solar energy production capacity. If you're considering running your house solely on solar panels in Utah, then you're in luck because Utah is ranked the 9th sunniest state in the United States of America with an average number of sunny days (238) which is higher than the national average (205).
Are Tesla Solar Panels Available in Utah?
Yes, Tesla Solar Panels are available in Utah. You can get these panels at Tesla’s walk-in stores in the Beehive state at Salt Lake City and Pleasant Grove. These solar panels are monocrystalline in nature, sleek and durable, and are available for shopping and shipping in all fifty states of the United States of America.
Tesla provides two lines of solar panel, these are the S Series and the H Series. Both of the solar panel series are highly effective and durable. The cost of installation for a 2000-square-foot home is estimated at $26,900. That is before federal, state and local tax incentives and credit plans. The panels boast a ten year extensive warranty and a 25 year production warranty.
Utah, also known as the Beehive state, is the United States of America’s 11th largest state by landmass and it accommodates an estimated population of 3,338,000 as at 2021. It is an inland state located in the Mountain subregion of the Western United States and is bordered by the States of Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona and Nevada.
