Does Solar Increase Home Value? (2026 Data)
Owned solar increases home value — Zillow research found homes with solar sell for about 4.1% more on average, often $15,000-$20,000 on a typical system, separate from the electricity savings. Leased solar usually adds little and can complicate a sale. This guide covers the data, how appraisers value solar, and what raises or lowers the premium.
Does solar add home value?
Yes — owned solar reliably increases home value. The most-cited figure comes from Zillow research, which found homes with solar panels sold for about 4.1% more on average than comparable homes without. On a $400,000 home that's roughly $16,000 in added value — and that premium is separate from the money you've already saved on electricity.
Earlier work by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory similarly found buyers consistently pay a premium for homes with host-owned solar, on the order of several thousand dollars per kilowatt of installed capacity. The key word throughout is owned: the value boost applies to systems you own (cash or financed), not to leased systems, as we'll explain.
What the data shows
Multiple studies point the same direction:
| Source | Finding |
|---|---|
| Zillow | Homes with solar sold ~4.1% more on average |
| Lawrence Berkeley National Lab | Buyers pay a premium per kW of owned solar |
| Industry surveys | Owned solar = desirable, faster-selling feature |
The premium varies by market, system size, electricity prices and buyer awareness, but the direction is consistent: owned solar adds measurable resale value. In high-electricity-rate areas where buyers understand the bill savings, the premium tends to be larger. A $30,000 system commonly adds $15,000–$20,000 to resale value, on top of years of avoided electricity costs you already enjoyed.
Why solar adds value
Buyers pay more for solar homes for rational reasons. The most obvious is lower electricity bills — the new owner inherits years of reduced or near-zero power costs, which is worth real money, especially as electricity rates rise. A home with owned solar effectively comes with a long-lived, bill-cutting asset already installed and paid for.
Beyond the savings, owned solar signals a modern, efficient, lower-carbon home, which appeals to a growing share of buyers. It can also mean the home sells faster: surveys consistently find solar homes attract more interest and move quicker than comparable non-solar homes. For many buyers, move-in-ready solar removes the hassle and cost of installing it themselves.
Owned vs leased: a crucial difference
This is the most important nuance: owned solar adds value; leased solar usually doesn't — and can hurt. With a lease or PPA, you don't own the panels, so there's no asset to add to the home's value. Worse, the buyer must qualify to assume the remaining lease, which can narrow your buyer pool, complicate negotiations, and delay or even derail a sale.
Some buyers simply walk away rather than take on a 15–20 year lease obligation they didn't choose. Sellers with leased systems sometimes have to buy out the lease (often at an unfavorable price) to close the sale. This resale gap is one of the strongest arguments for owning rather than leasing — see our lease vs buy vs loan guide.
How appraisers value solar
For solar to count in a sale, the appraiser must recognize its value — and this is where sellers sometimes lose out. Many appraisers use the PV Value tool (developed with Sandia National Laboratories and adopted by the Appraisal Institute) to estimate the income value of an owned solar system based on its production and local electricity rates.
To make sure your solar is properly valued at sale: provide documentation (system size, ownership proof, production data, the original invoice), and ideally request an appraiser experienced with solar. An appraiser unfamiliar with solar may undervalue or ignore it. Realtors can also list the system's details and savings in the MLS. Proactive documentation is how you capture the premium the data says owned solar earns.
What affects the size of the premium
Several factors influence how much value solar adds:
- Ownership — owned adds value; leased generally doesn't (the single biggest factor).
- Electricity rates — bigger premium in high-rate markets where bill savings are larger.
- System size and age — larger, newer systems with more remaining warranty add more.
- Buyer awareness — markets where buyers understand solar pay more for it.
- Quality and condition — well-installed, well-documented systems from reputable brands appraise better.
Maximizing the premium comes down to owning a quality system and documenting it thoroughly for buyers and appraisers.
Solar and property taxes
A common worry: if solar raises my home's value, won't it raise my property taxes? In many states, no — there's a property tax exemption for the added value from solar, so you get the resale benefit without a higher annual tax bill. States like Florida, New York, New Jersey, Texas and many others offer this exemption.
Where the exemption applies, solar is a rare home improvement that increases your resale value without increasing your property taxes — a quiet but real advantage. Check whether your state offers a solar property tax exemption on our state incentives hub or the DSIRE database. It's one more reason the home-value math favors solar.
Should I install solar if I'm planning to sell?
If you might sell within a few years, owned solar still makes sense for two reasons. First, you capture the resale premium — the data shows buyers pay more, so even installing shortly before selling can return positive equity (especially with the 30% credit lowering your net cost). Second, you enjoy the bill savings in the meantime.
The math works because the home-value increase plus the electricity you save while you live there can exceed your net cost even on a short timeline — see our lifespan and ROI guide. The main caveat: own, don't lease, if resale is on the horizon, because a lease complicates the sale. If you're confident you'll move very soon, run the numbers carefully, but for most timelines owned solar adds value rather than destroying it.
How to maximize solar's resale value
To get full credit for your solar at sale:
- Own the system (cash or financed), not leased.
- Keep documentation — invoice, ownership proof, warranties, production data.
- Use a solar-savvy appraiser and provide PV Value inputs.
- List solar details in the MLS — system size, age, savings, warranties.
- Maintain it so it's clearly producing and in good condition at showing.
Done right, your solar shows up as a documented, income-producing asset that buyers and appraisers can value — not an unexplained add-on they overlook.
Regional differences in the solar premium
The home-value boost isn't uniform — it's largest where buyers most value the bill savings. In high-electricity-rate markets (California, the Northeast, Hawaii) and in areas with high solar adoption and buyer awareness, the premium tends to be strongest, because purchasers understand and will pay for the avoided power costs. In low-rate markets with little solar familiarity, the premium can be smaller.
Climate and demographics play a role too: in hot, sunny regions where air conditioning drives big summer bills, solar's value is obvious to buyers; in markets where eco-conscious or tech-forward buyers cluster, solar is a sought-after feature. The practical implication is that the same system can add more resale value in one market than another — but across the country the direction is consistently positive for owned systems, which is the key variable everywhere.
How solar compares to other home improvements
Viewed as a home improvement, owned solar holds up well on return. Unlike many renovations that recoup only a fraction of their cost at sale, solar offers a double return: the resale premium plus years of electricity savings you bank while living there. A kitchen remodel might return 50–70% of its cost at sale with no ongoing benefit; solar returns a resale premium and pays you to own it.
It's also one of the few improvements that can be exempt from property tax in many states (the added value doesn't raise your tax bill) and that qualifies for a 30% federal credit — neither of which applies to a typical kitchen or bathroom remodel. That combination of resale premium, ongoing savings, tax credit and property-tax exemption makes owned solar an unusually efficient use of home-improvement dollars, as our ROI guide details.
The buyer's perspective
Understanding why buyers pay more helps you market your solar at sale. To a buyer, an owned solar home means predictable, lower energy bills from day one — increasingly attractive as electricity rates rise — with no installation hassle, no upfront cost, and a system already permitted and producing. It signals a modern, well-maintained, efficient home.
Buyers also value the resilience and future-proofing: a solar home (especially with a battery) is better positioned for rising rates, outages and an electrifying world. The caveat, again, is ownership clarity — buyers want to know the system is owned and transfers cleanly, not leased with strings attached. Presenting clear documentation of an owned, producing, warrantied system turns solar from a question mark into a selling point in the buyer's mind.
Solar and home value: summary
Factor the home-value increase into your decision with the ROI Calculator, and confirm your state's property tax exemption on the incentives hub.