Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/489304
How will owning affect my home's value? Realtors are divided as to whether owned panels add to your home's resale value, and appraisers could go either way, so if you're planning to move in the next couple of years it might not make sense for you. However, a recent New York Times poll found that 83 percent of Americans now believe global warming will be a serious problem in the future. What this means to Southern California is higher temps and more need for air conditioning, which we all know drives up the energy bill. On that point alone, a certain number of buyers are going to see solar panels as a plus. On the other hand, there's not much disagreement regarding the wisdom of purchasing a system rather than leasing. ere may be no up-front costs on a lease, but you are responsible for the life of the lease. If you sell your home, the buyer has no obligation to assume the lease, warns Dixon, and in a best-case scenario has to qualify to take over the loan. SolarCity, one of the largest leasers, claims to have arranged successful transfers for 95 percent of customers who requested it, but there have been situations where the house seller ultimately had to buy out the lease or reduce the home price in order to complete the house sale. e bottom line on a lease is that you are responsible. If you're moving to a new location where you can use the same panels, it could work out well, but otherwise you will have an additional step in your home-sale process. For more information you may want to consult Sandra K. Adomatis' book, Residential Green Valuation Tools. Maybe I should wait. Aren't prices going down? ere will be improvements in the technology, says Jenal, but probably not enough to outweigh the cost of waiting. Prices have fallen significantly and are now half of what they were in 2008, and 100 times lower than they were in 1978. ey may go down further, but it's possible that with increased demand, prices could even start to increase as materials costs increase. Jenal showed us where there has already been a slight increase since 2013. In addition, Dixon points out that the electric company may weary of compensating customers for their overage. "ey are, aer all, in the business of making money and have the ongoing cost of the utility grid to maintain. is costs the solar-panel owners nothing, even though they are compensated for their generated overage." Glendale resident Scott Peer found this out firsthand when he applied for a permit on his carefully designed array. e city denied his application, allegedly on zoning/aesthetic grounds, but when Peer took his complaint to Sacramento, California Deputy Atty. Gen. Deborah Slon notified Glendale that in blocking the project, the city was breaking the law. Under the California Solar Rights Act, cities are allowed to deny solar projects only for health or safety concerns. But Glendale may not be highly motivated to approve alternative energy projects, since they reap a percentage of GWP revenues, which can add up. Indeed, the California Department of Energy mid-level estimate is for a 2–3 percent price increase by year 2020. Rebates for installing solar, once as high as $4.00/watt, have largely gone away (Pasadena is a happy exception). A 30 percent federal Solar Investment Tax Credit has made a solar installation more economically attractive, but unless the deadline is extended, it will end for residential projects on December 31, 2016. Can putting my one little house on solar really make a difference to the environment? Angelenos are switching to hybrid cars, non-grass lawns and solar power to save money, but more importantly, because we have to if we want to keep our city livable. Recent reports show that drought and heat are dramatically increasing, and if you're concerned about climate change, you know we need to act quickly to prevent overshooting the global goal of a maximum 2-degree rise over pre-industrial temperatures. e typical residential solar system, about 5 kW, cuts about 6.7 tons of carbon emissions each year (using EPA's CO2 emissions calculations). It definitely makes a difference. Special thanks to Laurel Hamilton, who contributed significantly to this story. april/may 2015 25