Your Solar and Your Home/Business
As long-term assets in themselves, residential and commercial solar systems have been proven to increase the value of your other long-term assets, namely your home or business. In an extensive study conducted in 2015, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory captured a picture of the value that solar photovoltaic (PV) systems add to home sales transactions.
The report took into account nearly 23,000 homes located in eight states from 2002-2013. About 4,000 of these homes contained PV systems. The results of the study can be summed up in a couple of key takeaways.
- Across the board, home buyers paid "PV Home Premiums" equivalent to about $4/kW
- This means that a standard 3.6kW (12 panel) system appreciated a home's value by about $15,000 on average
To further boil down these findings, financial returns from owning a PV system are directly correlated with a property's value. When you choose to go solar, you effectively increase the value of your existing long-term assets.