The following is coming from a sort of salesman/account manager from one of the largest solar distributors in the U.S.

You can source all the materials for a standard 7.6 kWh system (20 380 watt panels and racking) from a solar distributor for around 10k but you’ll have to pay for it upfront. The install labor and lender is primarily where the costs are coming from. We usually will charge you a higher margin (5 % ish) than the solar installers who provide us repeat business.

The easy work around for this is to call any local solar companies and ask if they will do all the installation without selling you the materials (where a lot of mark up comes from). The issue with self install is you will need to do permitting and schedule to have the power company come and “commission/connect” your system to the grid. Which depending on the state can be complicated.

I personally don’t have solar on my house because in my state the costs are a push but eventually intend to get it. The reason being will be energy independence via a battery. Power outages and supply issues will only continue to grow until an alternative is found, and i would rather be on the prepared end of that.

All that being said costs should go down this year as interest rates rise, which can help people who don’t finance save some money.