The Impact of Solar PV Systems on Home Values

Installing a solar PV system in your house is comparable to adding a modern kitchen or spa bath or a swimming pool to your house. These all provide additional value for your home.

In case you choose to sell your house in the future, the addition of a solar system in your house will make home buyers more interested in purchasing it since it will become an energy-efficient home. Research conducted in Australia, the United States, and Europe found that more than 70% of home buyers are strongly interested in purchasing a house with an installed solar system rather than a traditional one.

Having a solar system installed will save you money on electricity, and if it is an inverter-type system, you may get a monthly bonus. In addition, the house will be offered with an energy efficiency label from the electric company. Savings result from household solar systems varying in size and energy generation in your home location.

The above information assumed you owned your photovoltaic system, as opposed to leasing it or owning it through a purchase agreement. Unless you own the solar system, then you have to pay the solar company a substantial amount of money when it's time to sell the house. However, in that case, you lose a lot, as you will have paid the original contract price early, and only the other option is to try convincing the buyer to continue with the solar contract. When the new owner accepts the contract, then normally, there will be no problem. But if they do not accept it, then you will have a problem.

It is possible to include more solar panels in a power inverter, but the cost of to convert solar energy to electricity will gradually go down. In this case, your solar system will produce less electricity every year and last less than its normal warranty period, but you will continue to benefit from solar power over that period and beyond, since in most cases you will have free electricity for over 30 years before solar system components need to be replaced.

It is generally accepted that solar systems are a respectable addition to the value of a house. Solar systems pay for themselves within 10 years; you will free electricity for at least 15 years and hence, the environmental benefits will be a big deal.