Go Solar Increase Home Value and Your Return on Investment

Go solar increase home value at resale

Go solar increase home value and your profits when you sell your home is the conclusion of an extensive study published in 2015.  A multi-institutional research team of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory found that home buyers will consistently pay more for homes with solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems —averaging about $4 per watt of PV installed—across various states and types of homes. This translates to an increased  resale value of about $24,000 for a home with a typical PV system.

The researchers worked with a variety of organizations and appraisers to analyze the sale of almost 22,000 homes, almost 4,000 of which contained a PV system, across eight states over 15 years (1999 to 2013).  Based on this extensive research – the largest study to date –  it is clear that a key benefit of “going solar” is the increase in the value of  your home when it is time to sell.

Go solar increase home value and appeal

The Lab’s 2015 Selling Into the Sun report analyzed the sales of these solar-equipped homes when compared to similar homes that sold without solar systems in place. The key finding:go solar increase home value.   On average, home buyers were “consistently willing to pay PV home premiums” of approximately $4 per watt of installed solar capacity.  In real numbers, this means that a standard 6-kilowatt solar PV system could add $24,000 to the resale value of a home.  Download the report, “Selling into the Sun: Price Premium Analysis of a Multi-State Dataset of PV Homes”, as well as a fact sheets, and a summary here in order to learn more about the study’s design and findings.

Clearly, installing solar panels on your home can increase its value, but only if you own the system. If you install a solar panel system in your home through a lease or PPA arrangement, you don’t realize the resale benefits because you are essentially “renting” your system from its third-party owner.  In a typical solar power purchase agreement (PPA), a developer has had a solar system designed, permitted, financed and installed on a customer’s property at little to no cost to the owner.  Since the owner doesn’t really own the system, it cannot be included in assessments of your home’s value.

But for property owners who work with a company like Venture Home Solar to install their own solar PV systems, this is great news.  Property owners not only recoup the initial cost of their systems when they sell, but they also receive an increase in profit on their original investment.