How much does solar add to the appraised value

[Slumlord]

Anyone here have info / links to sources that would help estimate how
much value a solar PV system would add to the future resale value of a
home?


Thanks..

 

[Eeyore]

Anyone here have info / links to sources that would help estimate how
much value a solar PV system would add to the future resale value of a
home?

Less than it costs for sure.

Graham

 

[Justin]

Anyone here have info / links to sources that would help estimate how
much value a solar PV system would add to the future resale value of a
home?

most buyers are afraid with much technology, if it looks slick and shiny, it has many
parts that can/will break and will be expensive to repair/replace plus the new
homeowner may not have skills to perform maintenance/repairs.

until solar PV is off-the-shelf type purchase from home depot, I would not calculate
an "add" value to such a system as it's been a turnoff in my experience. in fact, I
won't even mention it in initial walkthroughs, only when there is a serious buyer and
then it's sometimes resulted in loss of sale (someone else always bought the place)

 

[Derek Broughton]

most buyers are afraid with much technology, if it looks slick and shiny,
it has many parts that can/will break and will be expensive to
repair/replace plus the new homeowner may not have skills to perform
maintenance/repairs.

until solar PV is off-the-shelf type purchase from home depot, I would not
calculate an "add" value to such a system as it's been a turnoff in my
experience. in fact, I won't even mention it in initial walkthroughs, only
when there is a serious buyer and then it's sometimes resulted in loss of
sale (someone else always bought the place)

I agree with Justin. I'm not in the Real Estate business, but that's been
the experience of the other member of our local Solar technology group.

Note that you've asked two different questions - appraised value and resale
value are often quite different. PV might add to the appraised value
without ever adding to resale value.

Passive-solar homes & solar hot water, that reduce energy consumption
without adding a lot of technology (or the technology could fail without
you ever seeing any difference except in your fuel bills) might add value,
but PV, I don't think so. I can't see a lot of people being impressed with
my DIY PV

 

[wmbjk]

Anyone here have info / links to sources that would help estimate how
much value a solar PV system would add to the future resale value of a
home?


Thanks..

Appraised value might rise by 20X annual savings.
http://www.oreillynet.com/etel/blog/2004/09/solar_systems_and_home_valuati.html

Resale value will be highly variable. It will be best if you have a
properly done and effective installation, rising grid prices, and
knowledgeable buyers. You might plan the installation to be easily
removable in case future buyers can't see the value.

Wayne

 

[Sorobon]

Anyone here have info / links to sources that would help estimate how much
value a solar PV system would add to the future resale value of a home?


Thanks..

It would depend where your house was located, --- in the South West US, in
an area where no commercial power was available you could probably get most
of your investment back. If the house was in Portland, Oregon solar panels
are almost worthless, ---- relatively cheap power and 9 months of clouds and
rain

 

[Eeyore]

I recently sold my home in CA. The new owners loved the solar.
A friend just sold his home, the new owners were actually *looking*
for a home with solar. These are the only examples that I have
personal knowledge of and they were both positive.

California is of course one of the better places to use PV solar.

Try that in NY !

Graham

 

[Jim Baber]

Jim Baber wrote:

Less than it costs for sure.
Graham

The American Appraiser's have established that the appraised value is
increased by the avoided cost per year times 20. So that means that if
you actually saved $4,000 in a year because you had generated 40,000 kW
at a .10 / kwh rate schedule for the year, your system would increase
the value of the house by $80,000. Now just convince your buyer of that.

 

[Eeyore]

Jim Baber wrote:

The American Appraiser's have established that the appraised value is
increased by the avoided cost per year times 20. So that means that if
you actually saved $4,000 in a year because you had generated 40,000 kW
at a .10 / kwh rate schedule for the year, your system would increase
the value of the house by $80,000. Now just convince your buyer of that.

40 MWh in a year ?

That would be worth somethiong for sure !

So, 1000kWh ( not bad btw ) would increase the value by $2,000 ?

Graham

 

[Derek Broughton]

40 MWh in a year ?

That would be worth somethiong for sure !

LOL. I hadn't even noticed that. I generate about 1000kWh annually. 4,000
would be more than I could think of using. 40,000 would power the
neighborhood, if I had any neighbors.

So, 1000kWh ( not bad btw ) would increase the value by $2,000 ?

Sounds right - a $15,000 investment, nets a $2,000 return

 

[Derek Broughton]

^^^^^^^^^^^

Not bad? That's about what the average person uses in a place like the
Dominican Republic or Tunisia,

You think? I really doubt it. _I_ live on 1000kWh / year (admittedly plus
propane for cooking and refrigeration). Your average Dominican is sure to
use much less.

and less than half the global average per
capita. Even in Seattle you could generate that much with a sub-kilowatt
PV system.

Doubtful. It takes me 830W of panels in a much sunnier clime than Seattle.

 

[Derek Broughton]

I might have been a little unfair -- I was looking at electricity use
per capita rather than per residence, ....
In the Dominican Republic I'd guess that more than 35% of the
electricity consumption is for non-residential use, but I'd still wager
that your personal electricity consumption is *far* closer to theirs
than to the average American's!

LOL. I wouldn't doubt that. Before moving to an off-grid home, my
electricity consumption was certainly 10 times what it is now. My total
power consumption was probably about 5 times - after all, I've diverted a
significant part of my load to propane, without actually reducing that
part.

Perhaps. It's a rough calculation based on a fairly idealized system.

It's probably not a _long_ way out, but I think you'd need a little bit more
than 1kW of panels.