How Solar Panels Could Increase Your Home Value By Up To 14%

Reports shared by The Eco Experts, a leading authority that helps people all over the UK to go green in the most energy and cost efficient ways, reveal that adding solar panels to your home could increase its price by up to 14%. 

“With wholesale gas prices continuing to keep household energy bills at unaffordable levels for the foreseeable future, the case for switching to solar for your home has never been stronger,” The Eco Experts’ Editor Roland Ellison, says.

“Even when you come to sell your home, if you’ve made the investment to reduce your energy bills in the long term, it will make your property a more attractive prospect for potential buyers, as they will benefit from lower energy bills without having to front-up the initial costs of installation.”

The Eco Experts share 3 ways solar panels can increase your home value:

1. Lower energy bills

The increase in property value is mainly due to how much solar power can save homeowners on energy bills.

Solar panel owners can also sell surplus generation back to the grid through the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) – bringing in even more money.

According to The Eco Experts’ calculations, if you have a three-bedroom house in the UK, you could save £482 per year on your energy bills from solar panels, and make £159 from the SEG – totting up to an annual saving of up to £641 a year.

2. Increased EPC rating

Solar panels can increase a property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) score, which is a measure of its energy efficiency – by over two levels. This can be hugely desirable for buyers, especially since the government is pushing for all houses to be rated ‘B’ by 2030.

In the UK, The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) analyzed over 320,000 properties between 1995 and 2011 and found that when a home’s EPC rating rose from band G to E – or from D to B – its property price also rose significantly.

3. Home improvements

Solar-equipped homes also tend to sell for more because solar panels are considered to be upgrades to the home, similar to how an extension or conservatory increases a home’s value. 

“As anyone who has bought a house will know, the less you have to spend once you move in is something that you need to factor in,” says Roland. “Long-term investments in energy-saving products like solar panels are a significant advantage to savvy house buyers. Not only will they lop a significant chunk off their monthly energy bills from day one, it’s also one less thing to fork out for further down the line. 

“Make sure you check the age, warranty, and maintenance costs of the panels installed before you make an offer,” Roland adds.

Breaking even on solar panels

According to The Eco Experts’ calculations, it could take the average household almost 15 years (14.55 to be precise) to break even. Solar panels typically last at least another 10 years after this point.