Study: Solar panels increase home values

As home values throughout most of the country are at all-time lows and are expected to remain fairly low for the near future, some individuals who invested in solar panels may have placed themselves at an advantage compared to other homeowners, according to a recent study.

Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have found that homes in California with solar panels, also known as photovoltaic or PV systems, have sold at a premium as compared to regular homes for sale, and may continue to do so in the future.

The findings showed that homes in California equipped with PV systems received between a $3.90 and $6.40 premium per watt, which "corresponds to a 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 study]."

However, the source also noted that the premium is likely greater when the house had not originally come with solar panels. Installing PV systems on a pre-existing home can sometimes result in as much as three times the premium of a home that was built with the feature.

Though more studies are needed to determine if this theory applies to other housing markets outside of California, green remodeling continues to rise in other cities. Washington, D.C. in particular has been recognized for having a high amount of existing and future energy-efficient property developments.  

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