Lawrence Berkeley National Lab studied 22,000 home sales and found buyers paid an average of $4 per watt more for homes with owned solar. Zillow's analysis put the bump at 4.1%. Move the sliders to see your home's number.
Adjust to your specific home. Numbers update live.
Estimate based on LBNL ($4/W) and Zillow (4.1%) research. We use the conservative of the two.
Both peer-reviewed. Both based on real home sale data. Both come to roughly the same conclusion: solar adds meaningful equity to the homes it's on.
The "Selling Into the Sun" study analyzed 22,000 home sales across 8 states. It found that buyers paid an average premium of about $4 per watt for homes with owned solar systems. For a typical Utah 7.5 kW system, that translates to roughly $30,000 in added home value at sale.
Source: emp.lbl.gov/publications/selling-sun-price-premium-analysis
Zillow analyzed home sales nationwide and found that homes with solar panels sold for 4.1% more on average than comparable homes without — equivalent to a $9,274 boost on the median U.S. home. On a $525,000 Utah home, that's roughly $21,500.
We compute both estimates and use the lower of the two as a conservative baseline. On smaller homes, the 4.1% Zillow figure typically wins. On larger homes with bigger systems, the LBNL $4/watt benchmark caps the estimate. Either way, the math is grounded in actual home sale data — not industry marketing.
Most homeowners only do the math on the monthly bill. The bigger story is what happens at resale.
The obvious one. Your power bill drops 70–90% the day the system turns on. In Utah, that's typically $1,500–$3,000/year back in your pocket — and rising as Rocky Mountain Power keeps raising rates.
A buyer will pay more for a home with owned solar than an identical home without. The premium typically covers a meaningful portion of the system cost — before you even count the monthly bill savings.
NREL data shows solar-equipped homes sell ~20% faster on average than comparable non-solar homes. Buyers see solar as both a feature and a hedge against the next rate hike.
If the solar is leased or under a PPA, the home value bump is much smaller or negative — buyers may have to assume the lease, which complicates the sale. Equity premium applies to owned systems only.
If your roof needs replacement within 5 years, the install-remove-reinstall cost ($3,000–$5,000) erodes the equity gain. Replace the roof first.
Buyers and appraisers can spot off-brand hardware. Tier-1 panels with a 25-year warranty (REC, Q CELLS, Panasonic, Silfab) carry the premium. Bargain panels often don't.
We pull your historical usage, model your specific roof, and send a 48-hour written analysis — including the estimated equity boost for your specific home. Free.