Do Solar Homes Sell Faster?
To answer this question, we should first distinguish whether owning a solar panel system is a privilege for a residence or not. Based on the latest researches made by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), houses equipped with solar panel kits sell 20 percent faster. Taking California as a subject of research territory, the specialists concluded that solar houses tend to be in much more demand than the equivalent non-solar houses. So, which are the points making a house with a solar panel system preferable for the future owner?
Privilege In Comfort
Modern technologies are developing with the speed of light. As we all try to keep up with the times, it is our challenge to stay up-to-date with renewable solutions. The solar panel kits for home are an inseparable part of these innovations. They are here to make your life more comfortable and pleasant. With comfort, I mean:
- a non-stop eco-friendly electricity source without any dependency on the local power grid,
- smart home solutions with remote control options for various electronic devices,
- personal EV chargers, house monitoring systems, and others.
This may sound like a fantasy, but people who are a part of our big solar family will confirm the fact. And the fact is that the solar panel kits add an indescribable value to your life.
Your House is Renovated
From the point of view of real estate qualification, a house with solar panel installation is considered an upgrade. The house equipped with photovoltaic system has several obvious privileges, such as:
- The roof. To install solar panel racking on your roof, you must first have a reliable and resistant roof. It must be stable enough to resist the weight and pressure of about 10-12 solar panels and, why not, a water heater mounted on it. If the house is equipped with a solar panel system on the roof, it is sure to have a renovated roofing and attic.
- Security system. A modern house with a solar system installation is often set up with new monitoring devices with remote control accessibility. With a house monitoring system, you can easily access and control your electrical devices away from home via the internet.
- Smart home solutions. Most solar panel companies offer a variety of smart home solutions and apps. Bay Solar Group, one of the leading companies in the area, proposes the best products and solutions in these series, such as Nest Thermostat, Solar Attic Fan, Solar Panel Bird Net, Solar Pool Heating, Speed Pool Pump, LG Chem RESU, EV Outlet, Sense Home Energy Monitoring, Solar PV Diagnosis and Troubleshooting, and others. The equipment of a house with such devices and systems makes it an ultimate upgraded residential construction.
Tangible Value To Your Budget
When speaking about solar system maintenance’s financial benefits, we first speak about the material value added to your residence. Despite the solar panel price, a home will fetch premium prices above market value if you decide to equip it with a PV system. A recent study proved, a house solar panel installation automatically increases its value by about $15,000 – $20,000 on average. In general, it is calculated as $4 per watt in California and $3 per watt elsewhere.
Return on Investments (ROI) is another advantage to the homeowner’s budget. By the logic of ROI, a homeowner receives a solar panel payback in the upcoming years after PV system installation gradually decreases to zero. Speaking with numbers, if your system installation costs about $20,000, your system will save about $2,500 per year on energy bills. The formula of calculation is as follows: $20,000/$2,500=8. Hence, your PV payback duration will be eight years. But if for some reason you decide to sell your house before payback time expiration, the installed solar system will be for your benefit again. As shown above, it will significantly contribute to your house sell-out in a short time with a comparably high price. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab 2015 publication “Selling into the sun: Price premium analysis of a multistate dataset of solar homes,” an average home buyer prefers to pay a premium of $15,000 for a house with a 3.6kW solar panel system.
Today many solar panel companies suggest individual bonuses along with solar panel tax credit offered by your state. Despite whether you plan to sell your house in the near future or not, you should claim the Investment Tax Credit by all means. Compared with 2019 and 2020, it has decreased, reaching 26 percent from the previous 30 percent by 2021. Congress has extended the 26 percent ITC for two more years. However, it is planned to reach 22 percent by 2023 and 10 percent by 2024. Owning solar ITC will again add value to your property if you decide to sell it.
As the benefits mentioned above prove, despite solar panel cost, your house will get the ultimate value from switching to solar system consumption.
Leased vs. Owned Systems
The difference between leased and owned PV systems is that you don’t actually own that system in case of leasing. However, if you buy the same system either with cash or with credit, you become its owner. Specialists do not advise leasing a solar panel system or signing a power purchase agreement, as it is non-profitable for your budget. In this case, the owner of the power system is the third person, not you. Typically leasing agreements are signed for 10 or 20 years, and you can’t just cancel the agreement without legal interference. As you can see, this is not a good idea, especially if you plan to sell the house. A leasing agreement attached to the house is a significant disadvantage for a house-buyer, which will hold him back from purchasing your estate.
You cannot compare an owned solar system with a leased one. The first is a big plus both for the buyer and the seller. No matter how convenient solar panel cost calculator you are suggested by a company always give preference to buying the solar system, not leasing!
Author of a publication: Helen Kocharyan