Does Solar Increase Home Value? An Honest Look at the Studies

Owned solar panels probably add some value to a home. But the studies salespeople quote are old, and the true premium today is uncertain and likely smaller. Leased panels generally add no appraised value and can make a sale harder. If solar only makes sense for you because of a home value bump, be careful: that’s the least reliable part of the math.

The two studies everyone cites

Berkeley Lab: about $4 per watt

In 2015, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory published “Selling Into the Sun,” which looked at home sales from 1999 to 2013 across several states. It found that buyers paid a premium of roughly $4 per watt of installed solar on homes with owned systems. You can read Berkeley Lab’s summary.

What to keep in mind:

• The sales are old. The newest are from 2013.
• Solar cost much more then. In 2025, the median cash price was about $3.00 per watt, according to LBNL. It’s hard to believe buyers today would pay $4 per watt for a used system when a new one costs about $3.
• Owned systems only. Leased systems weren’t counted as adding value.
• It’s an average across many markets. Premiums in any one neighborhood can be higher, lower or zero.

Zillow: 4.1%

In 2019, Zillow reported that homes whose listings mentioned solar sold for about 4.1% more than comparable homes without it, based on sales from March 2018 to February 2019.

What to keep in mind:

• It’s a correlation. Homes with solar may also have newer roofs, better upgrades or be in neighborhoods where buyers value energy features. A listing analysis can’t fully separate the solar from everything else.
• “Mentions solar” doesn’t mean owned. The analysis couldn’t always tell owned from leased.
• It’s a percentage of home value, which implies a $1 million home’s panels are worth twice as much as the same panels on a $500,000 home. That’s not how equipment value usually works.
• It’s dated, and it was a company analysis rather than a peer-reviewed study. Markets, prices and policies have changed a lot since.

Watch out: “Solar adds 4% to your home’s value” is a common sales line. On a $400,000 home, that’s $16,000, which can make a deal look much better than it is. Treat it as a possibility, not a promise. See the red flag on home value claims.

Why the premium is probably smaller now

• Install prices fell. A buyer won’t pay much more for a used system than a new one costs.
• The federal homeowner credit ended. Systems installed after 2025 get no 25D credit, so new systems cost owners more after incentives than before. That could support used-system value a little. But it also means fewer buyers see solar as a bargain.
• Net metering changed in many states. Where exported power earns less, as under California’s net billing tariff, a system is worth less to a new owner. See net metering explained.
• Age matters. A 10-year-old system has less life left, may need an inverter, and may have weaker remaining warranties. See solar panel lifespan and warranties.

Owned vs. financed vs. leased

System status	Effect on home value
Owned outright	May add value. Strongest case for a premium.
Owned with a loan	Same as owned, but the loan usually must be paid off at closing, reducing your net proceeds
Leased or PPA	Generally no appraised value. Can be neutral, a plus (cheap, low-escalator lease) or a minus (expensive, rising payment).
PACE-financed	Owned, but the assessment may need to be paid off before a buyer’s lender will fund

For the details at sale time, see selling a house with solar. Buyers should read buying a house with leased solar.

How appraisers value solar

Appraisers are often the deciding factor, and practices vary.

• Comparable sales. The usual method compares your home to similar recent sales. Many areas have few solar home sales, so there may be no good comparables.
• Income approach. Some appraisers estimate the value of the electricity the system will produce over its remaining life, discounted to today. Tools exist for this, such as PV Value, which was developed with support from Sandia National Laboratories.
• Cost approach. Replacement cost minus depreciation. Less common for solar.
• Green addenda. The Appraisal Institute publishes a residential green and energy-efficient addendum that lets sellers and agents document features like solar for the appraiser.

To help an appraiser value an owned system:

• Provide the equipment list with model numbers, the install date and system size
• Share 12 or more months of production data. Check that output looks right with the production checker.
• Include warranty documents and proof of ownership or payoff
• Ask your lender whether an appraiser with solar or green-building experience is available

How our calculator treats home value

We don’t let a home value bump do the heavy lifting.

• Owned systems only. Our calculator assumes a sale premium of $2.00 per watt for a brand-new owned system. That’s half of Berkeley Lab’s older figure.
• It shrinks over time. The premium falls in a straight line to zero over 25 years, reflecting the system’s remaining life.
• It only counts if you sell. If you tell the calculator you’ll stay for the full 25 years, no premium is added.
• Leases and PPAs get no premium. They get a note instead about transfer and buyout risk.

For an 8 kW owned system, that works out to:

Sell after	Premium we assume
Year 1	about $15,400
Year 5	$12,800
Year 10	$9,600
Year 20	$3,200
Year 25	$0

This is a judgment call, not a measured value. You can see how much your result depends on it by comparing your calculator result if you stay versus if you move. Our full assumptions are on our methodology page.

What tends to help or hurt at sale time

Even without precise numbers, some factors clearly push value up or down for an owned system:

Likely to help:

• A newer system with years of warranty left
• Strong, documented production and lower electric bills to show buyers
• A full-retail net metering agreement that transfers to the new owner, where your state allows it
• Panels on a roof that was replaced around the time of installation
• Clean paperwork: permits, final inspection, permission to operate, paid-off loan

Likely to hurt:

• A lease or PPA with a high escalator that the buyer must take over
• A loan payoff that eats into your proceeds, especially with a dealer fee. See solar loan dealer fees.
• An aging string inverter or a roof that will need replacing soon
• Missing warranty documents, or an installer that’s gone out of business
• Panels on a highly visible front roof in a neighborhood where buyers dislike the look

Should home value change your decision?

• If solar pays back within the time you’ll own the home, any premium is a bonus.
• If it only pays off when you count a premium, the decision is shaky. A buyer may not pay it.
• If you plan to move in a few years, owning outright or with a no-fee loan is much better than a lease or a dealer-fee loan. See lease vs. buy vs. PPA vs. loan.
• Run the numbers both ways with the payback calculator and the selling a home with solar tool.

Bottom line: Owned solar likely adds some value, but the famous $4-per-watt and 4% figures come from older markets. Plan as if the premium is modest, and treat anything more as a bonus. Leased panels don’t add appraised value.

Also check whether solar would raise your property taxes or insurance in our guide to solar, property taxes and insurance, and whether solar makes sense for you at all in is solar worth it in 2026.