Simple answer, yes. But speed is of the essence here, because the Government’s “feed in tariff” for people who generate their own electricity is likely to be reduced after April 2012.
If you install solar panels now, you will get today, and in the future, the highest level of this feed-in tariff, but those who delay will get lower payouts.
Say you invested in a 12 panel PV system that cost around £10,000 and stayed at that home for 4 years and then decide to move on. You will have already re-couped, approximately £4,000 from the feed in tariff and would only need to achieve an extra £6,000 on the sale of your home to have covered your initial outlay. By passing on the feed-in-tariff to the new owners you are enabling them to earn similar money plus reduce the cost of their electricity bills. This is going to be a very attractive proposition to any potential buyer.
There has yet to be a definitive study of the impact of Solar PV installation on house prices here. However, Guardian Online said it would make good economic sense to re-mortgage and invest the money in Solar PV rather than miss out – and you will still make money on the deal over the 25 year payback period.
If reports help, then there are American studies.
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory looked at some 72,000 homes in California, around 2,000 of which had photovoltaic (PV) solar power systems installed. Solar-equipped homes sell for $17,000 more than those without.
In fact, a home with a fairly new average-sized 3.10kWp (kilowatt) solar power set-up sold for almost $17,000 (£10,300) more than a conventionally powered one. Existing homes that added solar power went up in value more than those built with PV already installed.