Studies Show Solar Boosts Home Values
Vermonters looking to go solar often ask us at SunCommon about the effect on their home’s value. For most of us, our biggest lifetime investment is our home and we naturally want to protect it. There’s a lot to like about going solar, and building on your home investment is one of them.
Here are three ways that solar should be a real amenity when it comes time to sell your house:
1) Selling price.
A big study by the respected Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory across 9 years of home sales in California found that those with PV systems sold at a significant price premium compared to similar homes without solar. In fact the average bump was equivalent to the total price of the original solar system. Wow. Folks who install granite kitchen counters or fancy bathrooms get back just a fraction of their investment at resale. But folks who go solar — with all the benefits to their family, community, environment and monthly finances – get paid back in full when they sell their house according to this study.
2) Property taxes.
Vermont law passed last year prohibits taxing most PV systems. Simply, solar systems up to 10kW can’t increase your property tax bill. And even a big system of 10kW would only ease up your annual property tax bill by $4 dollars per kW.
3) Locked in monthly cost.
When it comes time to sell the home, imagine telling a prospective buyer that (if the system were lease financed) they’ll have electricity locked in at 2013 or (if the system were purchased) they’ll have no monthly electric bill due to their solar. Compared to other homes they’re looking at, the solar home will shine as real money saver.
Imagine your monthly utility bill for electricity was $125. Through SunCommon, your monthly bill can be less each month, locked in for 20 years. So you save every month, and even more as utility rates go up compared to your fixed solar payment. And this study says even after saving every month, when you sell your home later you could recoup the entire purchase price of your solar system as well.We’re proud that SunCommon can help most Vermont homeowners go solar with no upfront cost and a monthly payment less than what you were paying your utility.
Now it looks like there’s a payoff when you sell your home too.