Before most people make the leap into solar energy for their residence, they want to make sure their investment will eventually pay off. While most homeowners with solar panels see a big reduction on their monthly electricity bills, they also enjoy a higher resell value when they decide to move.
Zillow conducted a study showing that homes with solar panels sold for 4.1% more on average than comparable homes without solar power. That translates to an additional $9,274 for the median-valued home in the study. The percentages were mixed depending on the real estate market. For instance, solar homes in New York City sold for an additional 5.4% over their non-solar counterparts while solar houses in Riverside, California sold for an additional 2.7%.
That may be one of the reasons residential solar installations have steadily risen year over year. Wood Mackenzie’s Senior Solar Analyst , Michelle Davis, has seen growth in the solar industry. “According to our latest forecasts, by 2024, there will be on average, 1 solar installation per minute. That’s up from one installation every 10 minutes in 2010.”
In a SunPower survey of 133 people who own new homes with SunPower solar systems, 92 percent of respondents said they would recommend a home with solar to a friend. Ninety percent indicated that inclusion of a solar power system was very important or somewhat important in their decision to buy their home. Eighty-five percent responded that they would definitely or likely buy another solar home in the future.
When it comes to adding solar panels to your home, the research seems clear that you can expect that they will increase resell value and will help with make the house more attractive to future buyers. If you need help calculating how much you can save monthly on your electricity bills or how long it would take to break even on your solar investment, our solar consultants would love to help. You can contact them here.