1 If the patent application was filed on or after June 8, 1995, the starting patent term is 20 years. 2  This accounts for the vast majority of patents in force today. 3  The 20 year term is calculated based upon the priority filing date, not counting provisional application or the original filing in a foreign country.
The report indicates that the median installed price of PV systems completed in 2012 was $5.30/W for residential and small commercial systems smaller than 10 kilowatts (kW) in size and was $4.60/W for commercial systems of 100 kW or more in size.
The per-kW rates are the highest for smaller systems (â¤2 kW): $7.7/W in average. Larger systems run in average for $6/W. More than half of this amount is driven by the cost of PV panels. A battery based backup system costs about 20-30% more than a batteryless one. Various federal, state and utility incentives can offset half of the above installation expenses.