Many people ask us about the value of solar. Beside reducing your power bill, does adding solar to the home increase the home’s value? The simple answer is yes, absolutely! Having solar on your home increases its value, particularly in Oregon, for the following reasons:
- Electricity Savings: Solar panels can drastically reduce or eliminate electricity bills.
- Net Metering: Oregon has a favorable net metering policy that allows homeowners to sell any excess electricity that their solar produces back to the grid. Your utility company will credit you for this solar-made electricity during the winter months when you are using more electricity than your system is making. You can read our net metering blog post for a more detailed explanation.
- Energy Mandates (the wave of the future!): As renewable energy becomes more popular and mandated, the value of solar-powered homes will continue to increase. Already the Oregon Legislature passed the Green Energy Targets Bill in 2021, which requires energy companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next 20 years, with specific benchmarks by as early as 2030. Read about the Green Energy Targets Bill for more information about Oregon’s move towards renewable energy.
- Energy Trust of Oregon for Pacific Power customers and the City of Ashland Utility have incentives to encourage residents to switch to electric appliances. A solar-powered home can limit or even eliminate the cost of running these appliances, another added value to having solar on your home.
If you ever plan to sell a home where you’ve installed solar, the increased value will also be evident in the sale process. Here’s what several studies and surveys say:
- Property Value Increase: According to research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), homes with solar panels sell for approximately 4% more than comparable homes without solar panels. In Oregon, homes with solar panels sell for about 4.1% more than comparable homes without solar power. Given the median home value in Oregon, this can translate to an increase of approximately $16,000 to $20,000, depending on the specific property and size of the system.
- Faster Sales: Homes with solar panels can sell faster than homes without. Solar-equipped homes simply spend less time on the market.
- Long-term Investment: Solar panels are a long-term investment that provides ongoing savings, especially in the face of future electricity rate increases. This kind of investment can be very appealing to prospective buyers.
- Adding battery backup, like the Tesla Powerwall 3, offers energy independence by storing excess energy generated by your solar panels. This energy can then be used during periods when solar generation is low, such as at night or during cloudy days. This can significantly reduce your reliance on the grid, lower your electricity bills, and provide energy to the home even when the grid is down. The added value of battery backup would be impossible to ignore as a potential buyer!
After reading all of that, you may find it hard to believe that, in some instances, having solar panels on your roof can be a liability when selling your home. Below are some scenarios where this might be the case, but be sure to read to the end of each bullet point because if True South Solar is your installation company, you will eliminate most of these issues from ever arising!
- Loan Obligations: If the solar panel system has an outstanding loan, it might need to be paid off before or during the sale, which can complicate negotiations and transactions. While this is true at times when financing the purchase of your solar panels, often loans can be paid off during the purchasing process.
- Property Taxes: When property values go up, property taxes usually increase as well. The good news is that many states offer exemptions, including Oregon. When you install a solar system, your property taxes will not increase, even as your property value rises.
- Maintenance Concerns: Potential buyers might be concerned about the long-term maintenance and potential repair costs of the solar panels.
True South Solar has a robust service department to help with any possible maintenance throughout the system’s life. Our service department can also provide new homeowners with an overview of the system they just purchased and an appraisal of it when looking to sell or buy a solar-powered home. Coupled with the panel manufacturer’s 25-year warranty (for most current panels) and True South Solar’s 10-year labor warranty on installations, we ensure our customers or potential home buyers can be confident about their purchase. - Aesthetics: Some buyers might not like the appearance of solar panels on the roof, which can be a subjective issue but still impact the sale.
True South Solar’s designers pride themselves on creating aesthetically pleasing designs of appropriate-sized systems for every home installation. We also have a permitting team that works with all the Southern Oregon municipalities to install your solar design to code so potential buyers can be confident with the unseen parts of the design in addition to the aesthetics. - Structural: Buyers might be wary of possible roof damage with installed solar panels.
Again, choosing your solar installers is key here. True South Solar is a full-service installation company, meaning our installers are experts in solar panel installation, and we stand by our work. While roof installation issues are virtually non-existent in the 14+ years we’ve been in business, any issues arising from our work would be covered under our installation warranty.
Our Conclusion
Ultimately, we are seeing a rising popularity of solar energy here in Southern Oregon, as the financial and environmental benefits are more widely recognized. While incentives to purchase solar do fluctuate, the current trend of providing incentives indicates strong support for clean energy and energy independence for everyone!
A Few Recommendations for Potential Sellers
Make it your goal to educate yourself, your realtor, and your potential buyer about the value of solar!
- Highlight Benefits: Emphasize energy savings, environmental benefits, and energy independence throughout the year. Be sure to include the benefits of battery backup if this is included in your system
- Clarify Ownership: Make it clear that your solar panels and system are paid for and provide all relevant documentation upfront, including the long-standing warranty that comes with the solar on the home
- Ensure Proper Maintenance: Maintain your home system in good condition and keep records of all maintenance, performance data and system upgrades
- Share apps: Monitoring systems can provide system production and average consumption information to potential buyers
As always, True South Solar is here to answer your questions and support your choice to go solar, so contact us with any questions!