Well by now I am sure most all of you have heard about all the Federal, State & State Utility Rebates and Incentives in your area that are available for new solar, solar thermal or wind turbine systems for your homes & businesses. So now you’re going to save a TON of money on power bills by doing so, but surely there must be more to this story than just that! Well there is much more to the story…
As is true with any other home or business renovation project, renewable energy equipment additions to existing properties greatly increase their respective resale values. The only difference at present seems to be that for every dollar spent on renewable energy system additions you can expect to get back three to five dollars at resale. Of course this is based on national averages and home values depending upon where it is these properties are located. It is also dependent upon how often you plan on selling your home which current trends shows to be approximately every 6 to 10 years. So if you added up all the savings, incentives and rebates not to mention the additional appreciation to your property at selling time solar, solar thermal hot water, wind and energy efficient improvements are a very attractive prospect to consider in getting ahead of the curve when it comes to reducing your living or operational expenses.
Any property in fact that has the ability to generate all of the power or even only a percentage of that power needed would be the equivalent of purchasing a car that never requires fuel to be purchased for it. This is not only highly attractive to perspective home buyers but it is also highly sought. Reselling properties with such energy upgrades and improvements to energy efficiencies is becoming the norm in many states across the country and the world. So much so in fact, that many realty companies who sponsor home showcase tours are now specializing in tours that will showcase only homes that have these innovative improvements designed into their construction from the very start. Green built homes are now a national standard which requires the highest quality in energy efficiencies in the systems and materials used. Before long they will also include renewable energy systems such as solar thermal hot water systems and the like which come with a relatively low equipment purchase and installation price tags for contractors but offer enormous lifetime savings for the buyers.
Many homeowners who are holding out and waiting for the real estate market to stabilize itself before they make any attempts to sell are in fact making many of these energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades already. Solar electric and solar thermal systems are among the most common of these that are being implemented but there are also a large number of rural property owners who have and are making wind their energy source of choice as well. Solar outdoor lighting systems have experienced enormous growth in this area also as they replace conventional lighting systems that are responsible for nearly 30% of their overall energy costs annually. Many of these new technologies in solar powered lighting systems also come with an added advantage in that they are capable of being motion controlled which offers not only a large energy savings but the added security that all motion sensed lighting systems offer.
We strongly recommend speaking with a renewable energy systems integration consultant in determining which of these systems would benefit your home most.
