Solar Panel Replacement Cost Calculator

Three different jobs, three different price bases

"Solar replacement" covers three distinct scopes this calculator prices separately rather than as variations on one number. Panels-only, keeping the existing inverter and wiring, runs $1.60–$2.40 per watt. A full panels-plus-inverter replacement runs $2.50–$3.75 per watt — the same base rate as a brand-new installation, because it largely is one. Inverter-only replacement is priced on its own basis entirely: a flat $1,200–$2,800 for a string inverter, or $180–$260 multiplied by your panel count for microinverters, with a 1.25× multiplier over string pricing reflecting the added per-panel hardware and labor.

Why the inverter is usually the reason for this page, not the panels

Panels themselves degrade slowly and predictably — about 0.5% of output per year, with a 25-year warranty typically guaranteeing 80–85% of original output at the end of that span. Inverters do not age nearly as gracefully: a string inverter typically needs replacement after 10–15 years, well inside a panel's warrantied life, which is why inverter-only replacement is such a common and comparatively inexpensive fix. Microinverters, distributed one per panel rather than centralized, tend to have longer service lives, which is part of what the higher upfront 1.25× multiplier is paying for.

This work does not qualify for a federal credit in 2026

Replacement and repair work is not exempt from the same cutoff that ended new installations' eligibility. Section 25D, the federal residential credit that once returned 30%, is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025 — and that in-service test applies to a replacement panel or inverter exactly as it applied to the original system. Most panel and inverter replacement work performed in 2026 gets no federal credit; check for a state or utility rebate program instead, and confirm with a tax professional if your situation is unusual (for example, a warranty-covered swap versus an out-of-pocket upgrade).

The three add-ons that aren't priced by watt or panel

Beyond the panel and inverter line items, this calculator prices three add-ons as flat ranges rather than scaling them by system size, because none of the three actually scales with wattage. Old-system removal and disposal runs $20–$50 per panel — for the 15-panel example above, $300–$750 — and covers safely taking down and hauling away the retired hardware, not just unbolting it.

Roof repair is a flat $800–$2,500 regardless of system size, because it prices the condition of the roof underneath the array, not the array itself — a leak or soft decking discovered when panels come off is the same repair whether the system above it was 4 kW or 12 kW. Monitoring system upgrades run a flat $300–$600, covering a new communications gateway or app-connected monitoring hardware when replacement panels or an inverter swap leave the old monitoring equipment incompatible.

Matching the scope to the actual failure

The biggest cost lever on this page is picking the right scope in the first place, not negotiating within it. An inverter failure priced as a full system replacement — because a homeowner assumed "solar problem" meant "replace the panels" — can mean paying $15,000–$22,500 for work that a correct inverter-only diagnosis would have priced at $1,200–$4,875 depending on inverter type, a five-to-twelve-fold difference for solving the same underlying problem.

A qualified diagnosis before committing to a scope is worth the cost of a service call by itself: an installer or electrician can typically confirm whether output has dropped at the panel level (pointing to panel damage or degradation) or at the system level (pointing to the inverter) before any hardware is ordered, which is the difference between the top row of the table above and the bottom one.