Residential Appraisal With Large Solar Panels

Solar panels increase home values a study from lawrence berkeley national laboratory found that each kilowatt of solar capacity could add about 6 000 in value to a home at least in california fast company reported jan.

Residential appraisal with large solar panels.

If you ve seen a rise in solar panels in your area consider taking the first step toward competency in the valuation of this energy efficient feature of real estate. If you own a home with a solar system the fha requires to your benefit that its value be assessed and added to the total appraisal value of your home when you want to sell it. Determining the value of solar panels is an issue that has many appraisers asking questions. Comments by the appraiser that a leased solar system is installed on the premises indicates to the reader of the report that the appraiser considers the solar panels as adding value to the subject property.

The basis of the report is how to value the appraised property with solar panels when no comps have them using paired sale analysis. To get any details like the kilowatt hours or age of the system appraisers have to call the installers themselves. The skilled appraiser will take extra steps to understand the market s attitude toward solar. Another way to show value for solar panels is for the appraiser to note them in the appraisal report as a feature and amenity.

Many appraisers are taking the position that there is no added value and perhaps some diminished value with leased solar panels because the buyer must assume the lease. Whether the solar panels are leased and owned also may affect the appraisal. As of september 2020 the average solar panel cost in california is 2 99 w given a solar panel system size of 5 kilowatts kw an average solar installation in california ranges in cost from 12 708 to 17 192 with the average gross price for solar in california coming in at 14 950 after accounting for the 26 federal investment tax credit itc and other state and local solar incentives. The appraiser emphasized that solar panels are a new arena for appraisers the issue simply hasn t been around long enough for there to be a consensus on how to value the addition of the panels.

Solar panels and green homes are becoming increasingly more common in the marketplace. When appraisers or real estate agents list a home on the market with solar they ll often just indicate that the home has solar panels. We then took 11 000 kwh and divided it by the respective ratios and then divided that number by 250 the typical panel wattage. A typical residential installation consists of a 5kw array which could increase a home s value by 30 000.

However if you do not own your panels whatever value that they may add cannot be included for an fha assessment. This panels are designed to convert sunshine or even cloudy daylight into usable electrical energy.