How Do Solar Panels Affect My Home Value in California?
If you’re considering solar panels for your California home, we have good news: adding solar panels will likely increase your home’s value.
Historically, California homes with solar panels have sold for more than comparable homes without them. For example, a 2019 report by Zillow found that solar-powered homes in California sold anywhere from 2.7% to 4.4% more, depending on the area.
We’ll explain how solar panels can generally increase your home’s value by covering the following topics:
- Why home buyers value solar panels in California
- Solar panel variables that affect home value
- Why you should act fast to install solar panels in your California home
Let’s start by looking at why adding solar panels makes your home more attractive to home buyers.
Interested in solar panels for your California home? Contact Photon Brothers at 805-351-3371. Our solar engineers can provide you with a FREE, in-home energy assessment. We’ll help you design a custom solar energy system and estimate how it will contribute to your home’s value. You can also get an instant quote with our online solar calculator!
Why Home Buyers Value Solar Panels in California
Solar panels make your home more attractive to California home buyers for three main reasons:
Solar Panels Lower Monthly Energy Bills
As the cost of electricity continues to rise throughout the state, many home buyers desire a solar energy system to reduce (or eliminate) the amount of electricity they pull from the grid each month.
In fact, when designed and installed by expert solar professionals, solar panels can offset electricity usage by up to 100%, which can drastically– if not entirely– eliminate your monthly electricity bill.
Savvy home buyers know that those monthly savings will add up over time, which means they’ll be more likely to spend a little more on a home if it has solar panels.
Solar Power Is More Sustainable Than Standard Electricity
Californians are generally very energy conscious and eco-friendly. Since solar energy lowers carbon emissions and reduces our dependence on finite fossil fuels, many home buyers will seek a home with solar panels over one without them.
Learn more about how solar panels benefit the environment by reading our blog, “What Are the Environmental Benefits of Owning Solar Panels?”
Solar Panels Will Soon Be the Norm in California
California has an ambitious plan to be 100% reliant on carbon-free electricity by 2045. The state has already made a big step toward this goal by requiring newly built homes to have solar panels as their primary source of electricity.
With the increasing number of California solar rebates, it’s clear that the state is encouraging homeowners to go solar. Smart home buyers want to future-proof their purchase as much as possible, so many will want to invest in a home that already includes solar panels.
Now that we’ve discussed why home buyers want homes with solar energy, let’s look at some solar panel variables and how they’ll affect your home’s value.
Solar Panel Variables That Affect Home Value
How much value solar panels will add to your home depends on variables such as:
- The amount of energy the panels produce. Broadly speaking, the more energy your panels produce, the more they will add to your home’s value.
- The age of the panels. Solar panels typically last around 25 years. The older your panels are, the less they’ll contribute to your home’s value when it comes time to sell.
- Whether the solar equipment is owned or financed. Buyers might be willing to pay more for your home if you own your solar equipment outright because it’s a more straightforward process to change ownership. That said, if you finance your solar panels, you can pay off the loan when it comes time to sell or, in some cases, transfer the loan to the new owner.
To get a better idea of how solar panels will affect your home’s value, we recommend consulting with a solar energy professional.
Why You Should Act Fast to Install Solar Panels in Your California Home
If you’re considering adding solar panels to your California home, we recommend acting soon.
Here’s why: The state currently offers a property tax exemption for residential solar energy systems. Normally, when you make a significant upgrade to your property, the upgrade is assessed at the current market value and added to your home’s value when it’s time to pay property taxes. But with this tax exemption, you don’t have to pay taxes on the value the solar panels add to your property.
However, this tax exemption is set to expire at the end of 2024. We recommend you start the installation process sooner than later to take advantage of this solar incentive.
Moreover, California is making changes to its Net Metering policy that could greatly change your solar system’s return on investment. NEM 3.0 is likely to change in early 2023, but the state hasn’t made the official ruling yet. So, in order to get grandfathered into the current NEM 2.0 system (and save more!), California homeowners must act soon to get their solar installed.
Want a FREE Solar Panel Installation Quote?
Contact us today at 805-351-3371. Our local solar experts can help you design the perfect solar energy system for your home and answer your questions about how it will contribute to your property value.
At Photon Brothers, we provide solar equipment from the best manufacturers and 5-star installation work.