A Washington, DC-area homeowner took to Reddit's r/SolarDIY forum to ask whether it makes sense to "panic" buy solar panels before an anticipated December price hike.
The potential panel purchase fits into their longer-term off-grid project for their 9,500-square-foot home, with battery storage planned for a later stage.
Here's what to know
On Reddit, the original poster said the system would be a DIY ground-mount installation in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area and sized at roughly 24-30 kW DC. As examples, they mentioned about 40 panels at 630 watts, 52 at 550 watts, or something comparable.
The OP then asked, "Where are people in the DMB buying panels locally or within reasonable driving distance? Any distributors/warehouses worth contacting directly?"
Many replies questioned whether a near-term increase was a given, as the OP implied, and others asked what, exactly, was supposed to change on December 4. One user wrote, "I think OP may be referring to tariffs on solar panels that may happen on December 4th," before linking to an article that raised the date as a possible import tariff deadline for non-US panels.
Timing was another major theme in the replies. One commenter pointed to a September 2025 purchase of 31 590-watt panels, saying they bought them "in a pallet - $160 each or 5k total" and that a "$0.38 per watt" floor would have pushed the price to roughly $224 per panel, adding about $2,000 to the project.
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The same user added, "Yes, buy your panels before December 4th. This administration is making solar more expensive on purpose, when in reality, it's actually cheaper to produce now."
One practical suggestion from the comments was to check local Facebook and Craigslist groups, with one commenter writing, "There [is] usually someone that does bulk sales for full pallets."
Where can I learn more?
These stories touch on the same issues: buying panels cheaply, planning an off-grid setup, and figuring out how big a DIY solar system you really need.
• One homeowner found the cheapest route into solar with used panels, free pallets, and ballast.
• A homeowner with $50,000 learned an off-grid DIY system could reach 100 kWh.
• One DIYer spent about $28,000 on a 40 kW solar build before selling power back.
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