Out of the many energy retrofits you could make, I want to talk specifically about photovoltaic solar installations. Photovoltaic , or PV, systems use the power of the sun to general electricity. If considering solar for your new home, look for houses with a roof in relatively good condition and with unshaded roof space. It is best if this unshaded roof space is South facing with some leeway to the Southwest or the Southeast to receive the greatest efficiency. If your system has a low efficiency, it could disqualify you from receiving state incentives and it is not a responsible choice. There are ways to get around some shade issues — either by removing or trimming trees, looking at alternate sites on your property (shed, garage, ground mount), or by using micro-inverters in the system design rather than using one central inverter.
You will also want to look at the electrical service to see if it has been updated. For a lot of older homes, they may have 100 Amp or lower service. A 200 Amp service provides a better, and safer platform to accept power from a solar array. If the house you want to purchase has 100 Amp service, you can talk to your solar installer to see if this needs to be upgraded.
Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM) offer a way to bundle the purchase of a new home with an energy improvement, like PV. When you purchase a new home with an EEM, you can also receive a better interest rate and a larger loan compared to if you purchased a new home without these improvements. To qualify for an EEM, a borrower will have to have a HERS home energy rater conduct an audit of the home before the financing is approved. The federal government insures these loams through the FHA or VA Program. It’s a little known or utilized program that all buyers of a new home should be aware about.
Lastly, financial analysis suggests that installing a PV system on a home will actually increase the house’s value. The basic theory is that once that system is in place, the cost of operating the home each month decreases because of the lower electric bills. Therefore, those monthly savings could theoretically go towards a slightly larger mortgage payment instead of the electric bill, with no change to the total monthly cost of ownership and operation. The Appraisal Institute says the ratio of increased value to annual electric bill savings is 20:1. This means that if your electric bill is reduced by $1,000 a year, the home’s value should increase by $20,000. If you’re already thinking about the resale value, then PV is a great choice!
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