Solar Panels: Energy Efficiency while Increasing the Value of Your Home!
Original Content by Carl Johnson
As the summer heat burns through your air conditioning unit or your heat keeps you warm in the coldest nights your electric bill may give you a fright. You may find yourself joking about getting solar panels installed on your home! But have you done the research to see all of the benefits that solar power actually offers? In this article we dive into how solar panels are installed on your home, their benefit to both the environment and your wallet, and the impact solar panels have on your home’s value. Maybe that joke will become a reality, and for the better!
How do Solar Panels Work on My Home?
When contemplating getting solar panels for your home you want to first research solar companies, both local and national, that would be best for your home. These companies will see if your home is a good candidate for panels, since there are several factors that come into play on the type of panel and energy that will be possible to generate. Some companies, such as Home Depot, even do free in home estimates!
There are factors that can influence your home's ability to have solar panels, such as the age and type of roof, roof angles, roof size, and even nearby trees. You may have to do nothing and your roof is good to go as is! But if you are open to trimming some trees that overhang the house, or even installing a new roof if yours could not support that weight of panels (ie. slate roofs), the good news is that you don’t have to live in sunny California to produce energy! Google gives a great resource called Google Project Sunroof, where you can enter your address and see the energy possible to be produced based on your home's location. See below the stats generated for a home in Durham, NC:
Original Content by Carl Johnson
As the summer heat burns through your air conditioning unit or your heat keeps you warm in the coldest nights your electric bill may give you a fright. You may find yourself joking about getting solar panels installed on your home! But have you done the research to see all of the benefits that solar power actually offers? In this article we dive into how solar panels are installed on your home, their benefit to both the environment and your wallet, and the impact solar panels have on your home’s value. Maybe that joke will become a reality, and for the better!
How do Solar Panels Work on My Home?
When contemplating getting solar panels for your home you want to first research solar companies, both local and national, that would be best for your home. These companies will see if your home is a good candidate for panels, since there are several factors that come into play on the type of panel and energy that will be possible to generate. Some companies, such as Home Depot, even do free in home estimates!
There are factors that can influence your home's ability to have solar panels, such as the age and type of roof, roof angles, roof size, and even nearby trees. You may have to do nothing and your roof is good to go as is! But if you are open to trimming some trees that overhang the house, or even installing a new roof if yours could not support that weight of panels (ie. slate roofs), the good news is that you don’t have to live in sunny California to produce energy! Google gives a great resource called Google Project Sunroof, where you can enter your address and see the energy possible to be produced based on your home's location. See below the stats generated for a home in Durham, NC:
The Google Project Sunroof even lets you enter in information about your current electric bill, energy usage, and financing to see the full benefits of solar panels for your specific location.
Solar Panel Environmental & Economic Benefits
According to Google Project Sunroof, the home in Durham, NC with 1,558 hours of usable sunlight per year can generate enough energy that is the same as taking two cars off of the road for a year. See the diagram below:
Solar Panel Environmental & Economic Benefits
According to Google Project Sunroof, the home in Durham, NC with 1,558 hours of usable sunlight per year can generate enough energy that is the same as taking two cars off of the road for a year. See the diagram below:
According to SunPower.com a benefit of solar panels is that they are clean energy with no emissions. Gas emissions are known to be a major factor in global warming as they get trapped in the atmosphere and act as a blanket over the planet. The more clean-energy alternatives we produce, the less gas burning emissions we are releasing into the air. Another major benefit to solar energy is that it is 100% renewable! As long as the sun is in the sky, we cannot exhaust solar energy, unlike fossil fuels and other forms of current energy consumption.
Though the upfront cost of solar panel installation can seem like a lot, it is a long-term investment that will save you money! For the same Durham, NC home on Google Project Sunroof, it is estimated that over 20 years the solar panels will save you $7,000. See the chart below going over initial cost, total 20 year benefits, then the 20 years savings (benefits subtracting cost):
Though the upfront cost of solar panel installation can seem like a lot, it is a long-term investment that will save you money! For the same Durham, NC home on Google Project Sunroof, it is estimated that over 20 years the solar panels will save you $7,000. See the chart below going over initial cost, total 20 year benefits, then the 20 years savings (benefits subtracting cost):
There are also many local, state, and federal incentives available for when you buy your solar panels, which will take that upfront cost down even more! Research your local state and area websites to see what savings are available for you. If the upfront cost is too high for you to invest, there are other financing options such as financing a loan or even leasing the panels. However, if you lease the panels, you may lose out on another economic benefit of solar, that is the increased home value they add! In some cases you can work the lease into the new owner's purchase though!
Increasing Your Home’s Value
Just like updating your kitchen or master bath to increase your home’s value, adding solar panels to the home can have the same effect. According to CNBC’s article on solar panels, adding solar panels to your home “can potentially increase the home’s value by up to 4.1% more than comparable homes with no solar panels, according to recent solar research done by Zillow — or an additional $9,274 for the median-valued home in the U.S.” This added home value can be just as much as your energy bill savings from the panels!
Another home benefit of solar energy on your home that is more difficult to put an actual value on is the fact that having a Green Home makes your house more appealing to buyers, giving you a better chance of selling fast. According to the same CNBC article listed above, 80% of today’s home buyers stated that energy efficiency is important to them during their home search. By adding solar energy you are putting your home in at the highest level of energy efficiency opening the doors to many more buyers!
Good for You, Good for your Home, and Good for the Environment
Solar energy is becoming more and more realistic each year as the technology keeps getting better and more people are wanting it. Though the upfront cost can seem like a lot, when you look at solar energy as an investment into your home you can get back so much more than just power! Taking the energy bill savings of thousands of dollars plus your added home value, along with available tax incentives, you are chipping away at the majority of the upfront cost of solar panels! And of course, the environmental impact is priceless.
Click out our past listings below to see some of our homes which featured solar panels:
304 Faison Rd., Chapel Hill
110 Jennings Ln., Durham
811 Green St., Durham
Did you know Carl Johnson Real Estate has a resource available to you on a list of Home Improvement projects? CLICK HERE to check out Carl’s vlog on the subject of the rate of return on home projects.
Increasing Your Home’s Value
Just like updating your kitchen or master bath to increase your home’s value, adding solar panels to the home can have the same effect. According to CNBC’s article on solar panels, adding solar panels to your home “can potentially increase the home’s value by up to 4.1% more than comparable homes with no solar panels, according to recent solar research done by Zillow — or an additional $9,274 for the median-valued home in the U.S.” This added home value can be just as much as your energy bill savings from the panels!
Another home benefit of solar energy on your home that is more difficult to put an actual value on is the fact that having a Green Home makes your house more appealing to buyers, giving you a better chance of selling fast. According to the same CNBC article listed above, 80% of today’s home buyers stated that energy efficiency is important to them during their home search. By adding solar energy you are putting your home in at the highest level of energy efficiency opening the doors to many more buyers!
Good for You, Good for your Home, and Good for the Environment
Solar energy is becoming more and more realistic each year as the technology keeps getting better and more people are wanting it. Though the upfront cost can seem like a lot, when you look at solar energy as an investment into your home you can get back so much more than just power! Taking the energy bill savings of thousands of dollars plus your added home value, along with available tax incentives, you are chipping away at the majority of the upfront cost of solar panels! And of course, the environmental impact is priceless.
Click out our past listings below to see some of our homes which featured solar panels:
304 Faison Rd., Chapel Hill
110 Jennings Ln., Durham
811 Green St., Durham
Did you know Carl Johnson Real Estate has a resource available to you on a list of Home Improvement projects? CLICK HERE to check out Carl’s vlog on the subject of the rate of return on home projects.
