Have you gone solar in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, or Florida? If so, congratulations on making a smart investment in your home. Solar systems have been shown by a Berkeley National Labs researcher and a team of real estate experts to add value to a home in those states. Better yet, this study may understate the value that solar systems can add to a home. The study is based on homes that installed solar between 2010 and 2013 when solar was a lot more expensive than it is today.
See how the Garcia family benefited from their solar system
Increase in the home’s value shown to be close to the price of the system
The average boost that a home gets from going solar nationally is 4.1% of the home’s value. According to Zillow.com a home valued at $226,300 would see a boost of $9,274. The increase in value a home gets varies depending on what state it’s in.
The great news is that if you are thinking about going solar in any of the six states where solar adds the most value is that the value that a solar system adds to the home was found to be close to the system’s net cost (after tax rebates and other credits). That effect looks to be true for all homes across any one of those six states’ real estate markets.
Homes in certain metropolitan areas have been shown to get an even larger boost in value from going solar than other cities. If you live in any of these cities and you’ve gone solar, congratulations! You’ve hit the solar jackpot!
- New York City = 5.4%
- San Francisco – 4.4%
- Orlando, FL = 4.6%
Best of all, no homes in the Zillow study saw a loss in value due to going solar. The Zillow study concluded that the reason solar homes sell for more than other homes is that the substantial future savings on energy costs are attractive to home buyers.
The news of the increase in homes’ values due to solar is valuable to real estate agents. In the past few years, it has been difficult to assign a value to the lack of comparably equipped properties, called “comps” by real estate agents, to estimate a home’s resale value.
Study results supported by previous studies
According to Dan Kammen, campus professor, and member of the Campus Energy and Resources Group in the Goldman School of Public Policy, it would be” surprising” if it were found that the addition of “solar did not significantly increase home value.” Kammen cites earlier studies done at UCLA, the National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL), and in his lab that support the results of this latest study on the value added to a home by installing solar panels.
Solar may add value to homes in other states
According to Sandra Adomaitis, a Solar Rights Alliance member and LEED Green associate who was one of the NREL study authors, the value that solar can add to a home is probably understated in the study. The research is based on homes that went solar in 2010 – 2013, and the cost of installing solar panels has dropped significantly since then.
Freedom Forever can help you get the most out of going solar
If you are ready to start saving money on electricity and possibly increase the value of your home, Freedom can help you get the best value in solar today. A home solar system with 25 years guaranteed power production. Our 25-year Production Guarantee ensures more than the reliability of your system. We guarantee the amount of power your system will generate for a full 25 years. If your system ever breaks down or underproduces due to something that was our fault, we compensate you for the lost savings during the time your system was down. We even list the amount of compensation you’ll receive in our contract with you. Of course, your warranty is transferable to the new owner should you decide to sell your home.