© Contributed by CNET According to Zillow, homes sell for 4% more than similar homes with rooftop solar panels. Bernhard Lang/Getty ImagesMost homeowners recognize some of the benefits of solar panels – they lower your energy bills, reduce your carbon footprint and can give you a nice tax break.
But did you know that solar energy can increase the value of your home?
A 2019 Zillow report found that rooftop solar installations sell for 4.1% more than comparable homes. For a median-priced home, that comes out to about $9,300.
Real estate website Rocket Homes reports that homes with solar panels are 24.7% more likely to sell for more than asking price.
According to Tony Accardo, realtor for Compass in Los Angeles County, solar energy is a "huge benefit" when talking to potential buyers.
"If there were two identical houses, but one without the sun and $50,000 cheaper, the solar house would be the first to sell," Accardo told CNET.
Here's what you need to know about how and why solar panels add value to your home.
Best solar companies: Check them out on CnetHow solar panels add value to your home
Tax credits are available for the purchase and installation of a rooftop solar system, specifically the federal solar tax credit.
However, when it comes to selling, the maximum price for a rooftop solar system depends on several factors: where you live, the cost of electricity, and the type of system you have.
One of the most surprising things for home buyers is how much of your home's energy is covered by your installation. If it can provide all of these, it can reduce your energy bill by an average of $1,500 per year, or about $37,500 over the life of the system.
See also: How long should solar panels pay for themselves?
"If solar panels are not on the buyer's list, they plan to install them themselves," Accardo said. "They want to offset the electricity costs and improve the sales situation.
He added that "getting" solar energy is more than just owning a pool.
“When an elderly couple looks at your house, they may not care if you have a pool. They may even find it stressful," Accardo said. "This is a direct savings that everyone can use."
Where you live matters.
The cost of solar installation varies greatly depending on the market. Interestingly, in states with higher energy bills, buyers value solar panels more.
Residential energy bills in January 2023 were highest in California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as well as all of New Brunswick, England, according to the Energy Information Administration.
California has more than 10.7 million homes that use primarily solar power and is the largest market for residential solar power.
In Here are the 10 states with the most solar energy in 2022, according to the Solar Energy Association's data on installed capacity and the number of solar homes.
Many of these states offer credits to homeowners who return excess energy to the grid. And at least 36 states will have property tax exemptions for home solar systems. So while it increases the value of your home, it doesn't increase your tax bill.
In a 2015 analysis by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, buyers in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina and New Jersey paid $15,000 more per kilowatt for a home equipped with a standard solar PV system 3.6 kW. (Equivalent to about $4 per watt of power generated.)
Several metropolitan areas have peaked in solar adoption, with Los Angeles, San Diego, Honolulu, Phoenix, San Jose, San Antonio and New York seeing the highest demand in the past year, according to a study by the California Center for Research and Environmental Policy. . .
The availability of solar panels in New York City boosted real estate closing prices by 5.4 percent, compared to a 4.1 percent increase nationally, according to Zillow. For a median-priced home in the Big Apple, that's about $24,000 more.
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The price of electricity will increase
Core inflation fell to 5% in March and is likely to fall below 3% by the end of the year. But Mark Wolf, director of the National Association of Energy Assistance Directors, told USA Today that electricity prices could increase by 10 percent in 2023 and possibly into 2024.
The United States, which is trying to replace supplies it won't get from Russia after it invades Ukraine in 2022, has run out of liquefied natural gas, which provides most of its electricity exports. in Europe.
"Unprecedented export volume, for the first time in history, links US electricity bills to global catastrophe," Wolf wrote in an open letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm last fall.
He called the situation a "crisis of domestic energy prices".
Also read : Here's how solar panels can save homeowners money
When asked their reasons for adding solar panels, nearly all (92%) homeowners who have installed or plan to install solar panels cite savings on utility bills, according to the Pew Research Center.
"People are not rude," Accardo said. "They're interested in solar because of the savings, not because of the environment."
Will solar still add value to my property?
A well-maintained rooftop solar system can't lose its value, Accardo says. Even without solar panels, buyers can pay more for a home with a roof suitable for retrofitting.
But changes in state regulations could make solar less attractive: California recently changed its solar incentives from a net-metering system, where homeowners receive dollar-for-dollar solar credits, to a net-metering program. Where your profits go towards utilities at a significantly lower rate.
According to the California Solar & Storage Association, the state's largest solar panel retailer, systems installed after April 14, 2023 will generate up to 75% less income for homeowners than those without home batteries. (Legacy systems are inherited from the existing pure scale structure.)
Similar policy changes have phased out solar use in Hawaii, Nevada and Missouri, according to the nonprofit Environmental America.
In Arizona, the time it takes for solar panels to become self-sufficient has doubled, with new tariffs and regulations reducing adoption by 50-95%, EA reports. (Despite being the sunniest state in the union, Arizona has fewer than 200,000 solar-powered homes.)
The condition of your panel and home is also a factor. If the buyer sees the need to invest in maintenance, this will probably lower the price.
And with more states implementing net metering, it's becoming increasingly important to combine solar panels with a home battery backup system to get the most out of your home.
Learn about solar panels, how to avoid scams and key changes in the California solar promotion .
