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Solar Panel Installation Cost in Pittsburgh, PA: what the permits say

How much does solar panel installation cost in Pittsburgh? The usual solar job filed with Pittsburgh is $17,782, from 925 priced permits (October 2023 through September 2026); the middle half of firms file between $14,000 and $22,140. A filed value is what the contractor wrote on the permit, not a quote or the final bill.

$17,782usual filed value
$14,000–$22,140middle half of firms' usual jobs
925priced permits (100% of 926)
59firms on file
56days, permit issue to final
Sep 2026records through

How much does solar panel installation cost in Pittsburgh?

The usual solar job filed with Pittsburgh is $17,782, from 925 priced permits, October 2023 through September 2026. The middle half of firms usually file between $14,000 and $22,140. Half of jobs were filed for less, half for more. A filed value is what the contractor wrote on the permit, not a quote or the final bill. A solar permit here usually takes 56 days from issue to final inspection. How long permits take →

What the spread looks like

Approximately, from each firm's own spread: every firm's range of filed values, weighted by its 925 priced permits across 59 firms, pooled into one. Half of Pittsburgh solar permits were filed between $11,100 and $25,600.

PercentileFiled valueReads as
10th$6,3001 in 10 permits filed below
25th$11,1001 in 4 filed below
50th$17,600the middle permit
75th$25,6001 in 4 filed above
90th$35,7001 in 10 filed above

By home value

Firms split into thirds by the usual value of the homes they work on, with each third's usual filed value weighted by permits. Home values: Allegheny County assessments (2012 base values). Home values are on the county's old 2012 base.

Firms working onUsual home valueUsual filed valueFirmsPermits
Lower thirdunder $96,000$15,46619364
Middle third$96,000–$159,600$16,74520312
Upper third$161,100 and up$15,50020250

Busiest firms and what they usually charge

Top 10 by permits in the last 12 months. Usual is each firm's middle filed value; middle half is the range its middle half of jobs were filed in. Busy is not the same as careful: pick what you value to build a list.

FirmPermitsLast 12 moUsualMiddle halfFinished
Green Rack Contracting L.L.C.7246$20,978$16,458–$26,11190.8%
Pjwd Energy LLC4646$27,101$21,268–$32,251—
Energy Independent Solutions,LLC9734$6,654$5,070–$12,05098.5%
Lifestyle Contracting, LLC4228$27,000$21,000–$36,00078.7%
Trinity Solar LLC11424$25,567$19,552–$32,96285.5%
Big Rock Electrical & Energy LLC2524$21,485$14,977–$32,10274.8%
Spartan X1616$22,140$17,481–$27,727—
Sunwise Energy LLC1712$12,699$7,120–$18,3005 of 5
Connected Energy Group, LLC138$24,252$13,695–$32,4637 of 7
J.L. Electrical & Construction Company128$15,500$10,000–$20,000—

Why filed values run low or high

  • The 10 busiest firms usually file $22,140; the 40 firms with fewer than 10 permits usually file $18,317.
  • Firms working on the most expensive third of homes (usual home value $161,100 and up) usually file $15,500, against $15,466 for the least expensive third.
  • One permit type covers small and large jobs: 1 in 10 solar permits is filed under $6,300 and 1 in 10 over $35,700, 6 times as much.
  • 99.9% of the 926 permits carry a value; the 1 without one are left out of every figure here.

Is your quote normal? Compare it with 925 filed values

Line your quote up against the file. In Pittsburgh, 1 in 10 solar filed values sit under $6,300, the middle half between $11,100 and $25,600, and 1 in 10 over $35,700.

  • $46,400Above $35,700: higher than 9 in 10 filed values for this work in Pittsburgh.
  • $17,782Right at the usual $17,782: in the middle of the file.
  • $4,400Below $6,300: lower than 9 in 10. Ask what the quote leaves out.

When to schedule solar installation in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh files the fewest solar permits in January (49 against an average month of 100) and the most in July (174). If you can choose, ask for quotes in a quiet month. We have no prices by month, so this is about crews' schedules, not a discount. When each trade is busiest in Pittsburgh →

How these numbers are made

Source: City of Pittsburgh permits (Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center). The window is October 2023 through September 2026; a permit filed after that isn't here yet.

Usual is the middle permit: half were filed for less, half for more. Only permits with a filed value count; a value of $0 or none is left out.

The spread is approximate: we keep seven points of each firm's own range of filed values, not every permit, and pool them.

Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can. How the records work in Pittsburgh →

Common questions

  • How many quotes should I get for a solar job in Pittsburgh?At least three. In the permit record the middle half of Pittsburgh solar firms usually file between $14,000 and $22,140 a job, so two ordinary firms can sit 1.6 times apart and both be normal for Pittsburgh. A third quote shows which one is the outlier. Filed values are what contractors wrote on permits, not quotes, so use them to judge the spread, not to price your own job.
  • What range is normal for solar jobs in Pittsburgh?Half of permits were filed between $11,100 and $25,600; 8 in 10 between $6,300 and $35,700. These are approximate, pooled from each firm's own spread.
  • How much do solar installers charge in Pittsburgh?The usual solar job is filed at $17,782; the middle half of firms usually file between $14,000 and $22,140. The 10 firms with the most permits in the last 12 months usually file $22,140, more than the usual. See every firm's usual job →
  • Why is this different from the per-watt prices I see online?Online prices are quoted per watt. A filed value is one number for the whole job on one permit, often many watts plus the work around them, and the Pittsburgh file does not record how many each job covered, so we can't turn $17,782 into a price per watt.
  • Do bigger houses get bigger bills?In the file, yes for the firms: those working on the upper third of homes by value usually file $15,500, the lower third $15,466. That is firms, not single jobs.
  • Where does this data come from?City of Pittsburgh permits (Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center), read October 2026. How the records work in Pittsburgh →

Solar cost in other cities: Orlando New York City Chicago Cleveland Miami Minneapolis St. Louis Colorado Springs Honolulu Albuquerque Boulder Greensboro Saint Paul Arlington, VA Cambridge Somerville Cary Mesa Cape Coral Provo Palo Alto Denton Seattle San Francisco Medford Anaheim Elk Grove Tyler, TX Marin County (unincorporated) Sacramento County (unincorporated) Citrus Heights, CA

Other job costs in Pittsburgh: Electrical · Remodel, Windows & Alteration · HVAC · Demolition · New Home