How Much Do Solar Carports Cost?

Solar carports cost about $3.72 per watt with average prices ranging from $3.45 per watt to $3.99 per watt in the US for 2022 according to multiple trusted sources.

According to EnergySage, A solar carport costs about $3.45 per watt in the US for 2022,  the average system size needed to meet 98.9% of your energy needs is about 11kW, and the leading brand of carport solar panels is LG

According to Big Dog Solar, “a solar carport will cost $3.99 per watt, a rooftop solar system will cost $3.58, and a ground-mount system $3.86. In terms of the percentage need met by each system, Energy Sage estimates that solar carports will meet 88.5%, rooftop solar 90.6%, and ground mount 96.8%”. Solar canopies are similar in price.

The economics of your solar canopy will rely on how much you pay for electricity and the size of your solar system. Solar canopies can help you save even more if your facility uses a lot of electricity when demand charges are at their highest. You can drastically lower your electric bill by using solar energy during those peak hours.

Residential Solar Carport Cost

You can expect to pay anywhere from $3.45 per watt to $3.99 per watt to install a residential solar carport. Residential solar carports cost anywhere from $67,275 for a 50kW carport system covering 3,526 sq. ft. all the up to $1,332,800 for a 1,000kW system covering 68,000+ sq. ft., according to Solar Electric Supply. An article by UnderstandSolar has a great breakdown of costs you can expect to pay while building a solar carport. For a 5kW solar carport, you can expect to pay about $20,500 before tax rebates, $2,500 for the frame and about $18,000 for the solar panels. You can expect to pay about $14,350 for a 5 kW solar carport system installed after receiving tax rebates.

Commercial Solar Carport Cost

A commercial solar carport costs $3.45 per watt.  Thousands of builders owners all over the United States are installing solar carports to save money. EnergySage shows a couple of different examples of how building owners are saving $21,750 to $73,00 a year by installing carport solar panels. Energy Sage says that commercial solar carports are more popular than residential carports in the U.S.

How Much Do Carport Solar Panels Save?

Santa Cruz saves about $73,000 worth of electricity per year and meats about 50% to 74% of the electricity consumption. They will save over $4,000,000 over the next 25 years. Read More

The Santa Barabara County Housing Authority saves about $1,085,000 worth of electricity per year with solar canopies. This meets about 75% to 99% of their electricity usage. The gross cost of their system was $13,800,0000 before their rebates of 4.6m, and a tax credit of 7.2m; making the net cost of their system about $2,650,000. Their return on investment is 40.9%. Read More