Why Solar Equipment Keeps Getting Cheaper (And Why Quotes Don't Drop as Fast)
Why hardware prices trend down
•Manufacturing scales
•Supply chains mature
•Competition increases
•Efficiency improves (more watts per panel)
Why "installed solar" stays sticky
•Customer acquisition costs rise
•Financing complexity increases
•Business overhead doesn't shrink like factories do
•Design/permitting time is still real work
What you can do about it
•DIY (with professional-grade planning) allows you to benefit from the equipment trend directly instead of paying for layers of overhead.
Next step: If you want price transparency, break the project into: design + equipment + permits + install labor.