PV system costs include hardware costs and soft costs (marketing, workforce, licenses, inspection, grid-connected, etc.). Although hardware costs are declining, what is the ratio of hardware to the total PV system? Let's look at the situation in the United States.
According to the NREL, component costs for US home roof PV systems account for 22% of system costs in 2017; component costs for commercial building PV systems account for 30%; and component costs for large-scale terrestrial PV systems are between 42% -45% .Thus, in a home PV system, the components are only one-fifth of the total cost, while the cost of the PV modules in a large-scale PV power plant is less than 50%.
