Price of installing solar panels on your roof keeps going through the floor

A global glut of solar panels has reduced the price of powering homes in the U.S. to record lows. With federal, state, and utility rebates, many homeowners can recoup the upfront costs of installing solar panels within 10 years, the San Jose Mercury News reports. That's leading to a busy business for the mom-and-pop-dominated residential-solar panel industry -- and a fast-moving game of "how low you can go" by solar-panel makers such as First Solar (FSLR).

As of late summer, photovoltaic solar-power panels are wholesaling for as little as $2 per watt: roughly half what they cost on the open market a year or two ago. Prices of 4- and 5-watt installations have dropped below the $15,000 mark for the first time in some markets. Buying groups have begun to spring up in U.S. cities to negotiate better prices, according to The Wall Street Journal.