Do Solar Panels Increase Home Value? - Green Building Elements 2022

2022-06-15 11:39:33 By : Ms. Kino lu

Solar panels are great. It is an incredibly cost-effective and environmentally friendly way of powering your home. There are many advantages to these products, hence why they are increasing in popularity. 

If you are thinking of getting solar panels, you may be wondering whether they can increase the value of the home. You may be afraid that they will cause your home to be considered less desirable.

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If you are concerned about this, continue reading to learn how solar panels will impact the value of your property. 

In short, yes. Having solar panels on your roof can enhance the value of your house. This will prove beneficial when you are selling your house since you will likely be able to sell it for a higher price. 

You should bear in mind that it will not always substantially increase the value of your home. Studies have shown that the property value will increase by 4.1%.

Research has shown that homes in the United Kingdom will increase in value because of solar powers even more so than homes in America. In reality, the value may increase by approximately 14%.

As you can observe from these statistics, the extent to which your house will grow in value will be on a case-by-case basis. In addition, it is very much based on the area in which you live. 

Whether you live in the UK or the US, you will be able to sell your house for a slightly higher price than you would be if you had not installed solar panels. 

This will be welcome news to those who are concerned that the value of their home will decrease because they have fitted solar panels.

This inaccurate rumor has spread quite far, so you may have heard it yourself. You should ignore this rumor. In fact, many estate agents are under the impression that solar panels could detract from the value of your home. 

Lower your electric bill, increase your property value, reduce your tax liability, and help save the world.

The reason why homes that have solar panels built into their roofs are more valuable is that they are more energy-efficient. As a result, these homeowners will not need to spend as much money on powering their homes. Essentially, solar panels are a valuable long-term investment. 

Energy efficiency is a desirable factor to many house buyers. Nowadays, more people want to ensure that they are being environmentally friendly.

Read More: 7 Most Efficient Solar Panels Reviews

Aside from this, people also want to be energy efficient because it can save them a considerable amount of money. 

Homes located in sunny areas will benefit more from solar panels. This is because they will reap the benefits of solar power more so than homes that get less sun.

Although solar panels will be able to absorb light even in cloudy weather, they will be more productive when the weather is sunny. 

If solar panels have already been installed, a new buyer will not need to go through the hassle of buying their own panels. 

If you are interested in installing solar panels to your home, you will need to decide whether you want to lease or buy the solar panels. To help you decide which method you should go with, we have summarised both procedures. Moreover, we have highlighted the main advantages and disadvantages of both forms. 

If you do not have a huge amount of finances that you can splash on energy solutions, we advise thinking about leasing your solar panels. Essentially, leasing means that your solar panels will be installed by a power company.

This installation may be free or it may cost a small fee. This limited cost will be beneficial to many people. 

However, you will be committed to this lease. Traditionally, these leases last for 25 years. This can be a considerable commitment, particularly if you are interested in moving homes. In fact, you may experience difficulties when you are trying to sell your house. 

Many mortgage companies may view the lease as belonging to the energy company, not the homeowner themselves.

This technicality may mean that the homeowner has to contact the energy company and ask for permission before they can sell their property. As a result, these solar panels may add a lot of hassle to the home selling process. 

If you buy your solar panels, you will outright purchase them. This means that you will need to pay a costly upfront price. This may result in some people being unable to afford solar panels.

You will likely be looking at spending a few thousand dollars to have these solar panels installed.

As you may have guessed, there are many benefits to outright owning solar panels. Unlike the leasing option, you will not have to deal with the hassle of contacting the energy company when you sell the house. Instead, you are free to sell your property as you please. 

Read More: Best Solar Panel Kits

The answer to this question will very much depend on your personal situation. After all, this will largely come down to whether you can afford to buy solar panels. If you possess the money, you might want to consider purchasing them.

If you do not have this money, you will be better off leasing the panels. You will need to bear in mind that this may tie you to a long lease, namely 25 years. If you are not satisfied with this arrangement, then leasing may not be for you. 

We advise that you carefully weigh up the pros and cons of both options before making a decision. 

If you are seriously contemplating the use of solar energy, you should also consider the fact that there are a few factors that will impact the amount of solar energy you will get. These factors include:

Lower your electric bill, increase your property value, reduce your tax liability, and help save the world.

Though solar panels may increase the value of a home, some realtors are not a fan of this energy solution. Some see them as decreasing the value of the home.

You can make the case that solar panels detract from the aesthetic value of a house. If you have a certain vibe or aesthetic, solar panels may not match this look.

For example, if you prefer quite old-fashioned homes, the modern-looking solar panels may clash with your aesthetic. While some people adore the look of solar-paneled homes, others enjoy them less.

Realtors may also not approve of solar panels because they limit the number of people who are willing to buy the property. Not all people will want solar panels on their houses. Thus, some people may refuse to buy a house because of the solar panels.

Unfortunately, it can sometimes be harder to sell a property that has been installed with solar panels. The reason for this is that there is often a lack of understanding of solar panels and their benefits to the property.

Some realtors and agents may not fully understand what these innovative panels can do.

As mentioned above, it can also be more difficult to sell these properties because they will have a more limited audience. Consequently, you may need to spend more time searching for someone who is willing to buy the house.

You may also experience some problems due to the leasing of solar panels. For more information on this, check out the “Leasing” section above.

Though the selling process may be more strenuous, it will be worth it when you do finally manage to sell the property. You may be able to earn more money from the transaction.

If you are contemplating getting solar panels, you should be warned that the price will be quite high. The exact price will depend on where you live and the number of panels that you get. Generally, you will end up spending between $15,000 and $20,000 on average.

As you can see, this is quite a lot of money. You could even spend more than this.

This is why many people turn to leasing out their solar panels instead of purchasing them.

There are numerous advantages of getting solar panels, most of which have been discussed previously. There are also a handful of disadvantages that accompany the installation of these panels. Among these negatives are:

High initial cost – it can cost a lot of money to buy these panels. Though they will save you money in the long run, they will not be advantageous for those who only plan on keeping a property for a few months or years.

Require a substantial amount of space – to install panels, there will need to be a good amount of space on your roof.

Reliant upon the weather – sunnier areas will be better for solar energy. Though you will still get energy in more cloudy spells, you will get less than you do in the sun. This can put you at the whim of the weather.

Pollution will be created during the manufacturing and installation stages – when the panels are being constructed and fitted, pollution can be caused. This can also be caused if the panels are transported from one location to another.

You should be aware of these advantages before investing in solar paneling. To us, the advantages of solar panels outweigh the disadvantages. Not everyone would agree with this and so you should be made aware of the potentially negative elements of solar energy.

As you can see, there are many benefits to installing solar panels. Not only will they make your house more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient, but they can increase the value of the house.

You will need to decide whether the substantial upfront cost of the solar panels is worth investing in, especially if you do not plan on staying in a property for a long period of time. 

Jenny Kim is the Solar Director at Green Building Elements where she is responsible with helping make solar power more accessible and affordable to anyone that wants to take advantage of the many benefits of solar energy. Jenny holds a Master of Science in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech where she paid her way through college as a top-performing inside sales representative for SolarCity. You can connect with Jenny on LinkedIn.

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