Solar Panels Increase a Home Value
Installing a solar panel system offers numerous benefits, such as reducing your carbon footprint, lowering monthly energy costs, and increasing your home value. At the Guides Home Team, we’ve thoroughly researched the best solar panels and the broader solar industry. Using this knowledge, we compiled this guide to answer key questions about how to enhance your home value by going solar.
According to MarketWatch, installing solar panels helps homeowners reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs. Those long-term savings translate into added value for your home. According to the Appraisal Journal, your home value increases $20 for every $1 reduction in your yearly energy bills. This means that if your solar system helps you save $400 in a year, your home value increases by $8,000.
According to Zillow, this will result in a higher asking price when you sell your home. In the 2021 Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report, 67% of potential home buyers ranked energy efficiency as a “very to extremely important” feature for a home.
These buyers were willing to pay an average of 4.1% — or $9,274 — more for homes with solar panels than for comparable homes. Averages were higher in some markets, such as New York, where solar-powered homes sold for 5.4% more, adding an extra $23,989 to the sale price. In the largest solar home study to date, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) found that buyers were willing to pay $15,000 or more for solar-powered homes.