Methodology and appropriate use
The ranges are Wattcrunch planning models seeded from published residential installed-price research, including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Tracking the Sun work, then adjusted broadly for state market conditions. They exclude batteries and incentives and are intended to flag quotes that deserve a closer explanation.
Financing dealer fees, roof work, electrical upgrades, trenching, premium equipment, small systems, and difficult permitting can materially change price per watt. Compare cash price with cash benchmarks and ask for financing fees separately.
What this dataset is not
It is not a statistically representative sample of 2026 contracts, a real-time bid feed, an appraisal, or an installer recommendation. Wattcrunch publishes the model and CSV so the figures can be inspected and replaced as stronger observed data becomes available.
Primary research context: LBNL Tracking the Sun.