According to new research by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, there is strong evidence that homes with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems fetch higher market prices than those without a solar system.
“We find compelling evidence that solar PV systems in California have boosted home sales prices,†said Ben Hoen, a Berkeley Lab researcher. “These average sales price premiums appear to be comparable with the average investment that homeowners have made to install PV systems in California, and of course homeowners also benefit from energy bill savings after PV system installation and prior to home sale.â€
The research analyzed data from approximately 72,000 California homes that sold between 2000 and mid-2009. 2,000 of these had a PV system at the time of sale. The research found the PV-equipped homes sold for a premium, expressed in dollars per watt of installed PV of approximately $3.90 to $6.40/watt.
This translated into an average home sales price premium of approximately $17,000 for a relatively new 3,100 watt PV system (the average size of PV systems in the Berkeley Lab dataset), and compared to an average investment that homeowners have made to install PV systems in California of approximately $5/W over the 2001-2009 period. In short, upfront costs were recovered at sale.
California is the largest market for PV in the U.S., where around 2,100 megawatts (MW) of grid-connected solar PV have been installed. The State is approaching 100,000 individual PV systems installed, more than 90% of which are residential.
Unsurprisingly, the research found that as PV systems age, the premium enjoyed at the time of home sale decreases. Besides, existing homes with PV systems are found to have commanded a larger sales price premium than new homes with similarly sized PV systems.
(Via Jetson Green)
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