Are solar panels getting cheaper?
Yes, panels have got far cheaper over the last decade, down roughly 90% per watt, and that fact tempts a lot of people to wait for the next price drop. The catch is that the panels are now only a fraction of what you actually pay, and the bills you'd run up while waiting usually swamp any further saving. Here's what's really falling, what isn't, and how to think about the "should I wait?" question without fooling yourself.
What has genuinely fallen
The price of the solar modules themselves has collapsed over the past 10 to 15 years, by something like 90% per watt, driven by manufacturing scale. That long slide is real and is the main reason home solar went from a niche luxury to a mainstream investment. Recent years have seen continued low module prices thanks to global oversupply, so the hardware on your roof has never been cheaper.
Why your quote hasn't fallen as fast
The reason waiting helps less than you'd hope: the panels are no longer the big cost. A modern quote is mostly the things that don't follow the module price down.
| Part of the cost | Price trend |
|---|---|
| Panels (modules) | Fallen sharply, still low |
| Inverter | Broadly stable |
| Labour and scaffolding | Flat to rising with wages |
| Mounting, cabling, certification | Broadly stable |
Because labour, scaffolding and the inverter are a large share of a UK install, the whole-system price falls far more slowly than panel prices alone. A typical 4 kWp install has sat around £5,000 to £7,000 for a while, as set out in how much solar panels cost, and isn't dropping in big steps year to year.
Should you wait?
This is the real question, and two forces push against waiting:
- The bills you pay meanwhile. Every year you wait is a year of buying electricity at the full rate that solar would have offset. For a typical home that's hundreds of pounds a year, far more than the likely hardware saving.
- The 0% VAT deadline. The VAT relief is set to end on 31 March 2027 and revert to 5%, covered in 0% VAT on solar panels. Waiting past that point adds cost rather than saving it.
Put together: the panels might get marginally cheaper, but you'd pay for that delay in higher bills and, eventually, restored VAT. It's the same logic that makes "prices will drop, so wait" one of the weaker arguments in solar panel myths. The better question is "what am I paying the grid while I wait?"
What about batteries?
Battery prices are currently falling faster than whole solar systems, so there's a slightly stronger "wait" case for storage specifically. Even so, a battery bought now still earns from day one on the right tariff, and the 0% VAT applies to batteries too until the 2027 deadline. Whether storage pays at all is the separate question in are solar batteries worth it.
The detail most people miss
"Cheaper" and "better value" aren't the same thing. Even if panels drift down a little, the value of a system is driven far more by rising grid electricity prices, because the savings come from the units you stop buying. As the price cap climbs, a system installed today becomes more valuable over its life, not less. Waiting for a cheaper panel can mean missing cheaper electricity, which is the trade that actually matters.
Frequently asked questions
Module prices may drift lower, but whole-system prices fall slowly because labour, scaffolding and the inverter are a big share of the cost and don't track panel prices down.
Usually not. Any hardware saving from waiting is typically outweighed by the bills you'd pay in the meantime and the 0% VAT ending in March 2027.
The panels are now cheap; the cost is mostly labour, scaffolding, the inverter, mounting and certification, which haven't fallen the way module prices have.
Battery prices are falling faster than whole solar systems at the moment, so there's a slightly stronger case to wait on storage, though a battery still earns from day one on the right tariff.