The price of solar systems has dropped dramatically over the past few years, making it an increasingly attractive option for homes and businesses.

The upfront cost of your solar PV system is affected by a number of different factors, including:

• government incentives and support schemes available
• contractor installation costs
• type and number of solar panels, which affect the output of your system in kilowatts (kW)
• type and size of inverter (the part of the system that converts the electrical output of your solar panels into AC electricity for use in your home or business)
• type of framing equipment and other system components
• height and accessibility of roof and whether it is tiled, metal or concrete
• any after-sales service agreements

As a very rough guide, the total cost of getting a home solar system up and running is between $2500 (for a small 1.5 kW system) and $11,500 (for a top-of-the-line 5 kW system).

For businesses, the approximate cost of installing solar ranges from around $15,000 (for a 10kW system) to more than $200,000 (for a high-capacity 100 kW system).