Buyers pay a premium for solar homes

An array of recent studies indicate home owners can shed concerns about recouping the high, upfront cost of a solar system and other energy-efficient upgrades and instead take their commitment to conservation to the bank.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2011 DeadlineNews.Com

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Deadline Newsroom - A residential solar panel system can literally pay for itself, not from reduced utility bills, but from its selling price.

Home buyers bent on reducing their carbon footprint and lowering their utility bill, perceive so much earth-saving, cash value in a solar-panel equipped home, they are willing to pay a premium that equals the seller's cost to install a solar system.

This is big news.

"We find compelling evidence that solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in California have boosted home sales prices," says Ben Hoen, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

What's more, not only will solar homes generate smaller utility bills and a premium when they sell, they also sell for a price closer to list than comparable conventional homes and they sell faster.

An array of recent studies indicate home owners can shed concerns about recouping the high, upfront cost of a solar system and other energy-efficient upgrades and instead take their commitment to conservation to the bank.

Get the full story: "Buyers Pay A Premium For Solar Homes, Energy Efficiency."

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

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