Is There Return on Investment

There are many ways to sell ROI. As we learn to sell a Clean Energy system, understanding the many ways to present ROI is critical to success. One the ways we have discussed is understanding the value Clean Energy provides in increasing property value. Research suggests that homeowners with solar PV will recoup the cost of their solar investment upon sale of the home. Homes with PV systems sell for a premium over comparable homes without PV systems.

Recently a study of home sales in California from 2000-2010 by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was concluded. It compared 2,000 solar homes with 70,000 non-solar homes, LBNL found that solar increased the resale value of existing homes by about $6 – $7.7 per watt and new homes by about $2.3 – $2.6 per watt. On average, Solar PV added about $5.50 per watt to the home’s resale value. The study suggests that the premium is comparable to the average net installed cost of the PV system. So, in other words, the system cost will be recouped at sale. In addition, PV owners benefit from electricity cost savings up to the date of sale.

Since the average installed cost on Solar PV is now below $6.00 per watt these systems are Cash positive from Day 1 without incentives!

As Champions’ we need to get this story out to our customers. There is a stigma that Solar PV and Clean Energy technology is expensive. We need to change this perception.

SunRun, a home solar service company based in California, created this infographic based on the study with a link to research on the impact of solar on home values. Long story short, solar creates value.

Happy Selling…

Christian