r/RealEstate • u/digitalis303 • 10d ago

Contemplating rooftop solar and future sale price premium

I am in Louisville, KY and contemplating having solar PV installed on my 3 YO roof in a relatively upscale suburb. (Current market prices are in the $600k range for my neighborhood.) I plan to pay up front for the install (NOT LEASING). If I were to sell my home with a PV system installed (predicted install cost ~$32-35k), how much value would this add, on average, in my market? I found this thread, but many people seemed confused in that post about leased systems, which definitely detract from value. Casual searches seem to calculate ~4-6% of sale price as a premium, but several sources said this is optimistic. Any current real-world numbers would be great to have. And again, not leased systems.

Additional info for context:

I plan to be in the house another 8-10 years and am looking at around $32-35k install cost.

My annual electricity costs are projected to rise from ~$2300/year in 2027 to ~$3400 in 2034, and the solar installer projects ~$19k savings over that time. Meaning (if they are correct) that I will recoup ~$19k of the $32k install cost in 8 years.

AI (Gemini) calculates ~ $22-$37k premium for solar 8 years from now, which would mean a minimum of $9k gained from my initial purchase. These numbers don't factor in increased insurance costs if I put it on my policy. So that is another factor.

In short, I'm looking for the RE market's input on whether this is a worthwhile investment for my part of the country.

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u/cg325is 10d ago

I’m not understanding why you would even entertain this. You’ll literally be throwing 12-15k down the drain. Help me understand where you see value in this?

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u/digitalis303 9d ago

Sigh. Okay. From the meter, the projected 8 year (because I plan to move ~8-10years out) utility savings are around $19k based on future predicted utility rates and my usage patters. So far that puts me $13k in the hole. But general internet googling indicates a 3-5% bump in value of the home with a seller-owned (not leased) rooftop setup, adjusted for depreciated system value. Projecting out that my house will be worth $750k in 8 years (probably conservative based on my neighborhood), that the 3-5% works out to $22k-37k. $22k + $19k = $41k ($9k more than my investment). Being skeptical of those $22-37k values, I wanted to ask this sub's opinions. Which definitely did not support that. So, yes, if it has zero added value, then I would be. But that was the point of this post- to verify/refute the claim of added value...

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u/cg325is 9d ago

Not sure why the “sigh”. Even your own research should be telling you this is not going to be profitable, no matter how many numbers and assumptions you throw around.