The National Renewable Energy Laboratory offers a useful guide when determining how much your property’s value will go up. According to its research, each additional $1 in energy bill savings (from your solar installation) adds $20 to your home’s total value.
This rule of thumb varies depending on a number of factors, including:
The property value advantages of solar energy only increase as you scale up. Installing 5kW of solar panels adds an average of $29,555 to the retail value of a medium-sized home. It’s important to note that these statistics only apply to today’s housing prices and utility rates. As electricity prices go up (as they most certainly will), the advantages of solar energy rise proportionally as well. In addition, installing solar panels not only helps you fetch a higher asking price, but it can also help your home sell 20% faster as properties without solar installations. For homeowners who want to reduce exposure, paperwork, and wait times, this can be a huge advantage – especially in today’s sluggish housing market.
Installing solar panels is one of the safest and wisest investments you can make. You enjoy electricity bill savings over the 25 – 30 years of your solar PV system’s lifetime. As utility rates increase, those electricity bill savings grow increasingly large with time. Even if you never sell your home, your installation fully pays for itself many times over. If you do decide to sell, you fetch a higher premium, which again, more than covers the upfront cost of installing solar panels. In other words, with the right-sized installation, solar energy is an investment that potentially pays a 200%+ return – far an excess of most any other financial vehicle you can imagine. And unlike most investments on the market, you actually begin enjoying those returns on Day 1.
1. Begin listening for storm updates or check National Hurricane Center updates at www.nhc.noaa.gov. 2. Fill the car’s gas tank and keep it topped off. 3. Fill propane tanks for gas grills and camp stoves. 4. Check your battery-powered equipment. A radio, lantern, flash lights… get candles 5. Preparedness plan with your household. 6. Refill prescriptions. 7. Stock canned foods, soft drinks and water. 8. Collect medical and property insurance papers, immunization records and medical records of anyone with special needs in a rugged, waterproof container. Include a few cherished mementos. If you evacuate to a friend or shelter, take these items with you. 9. If you are not in an evacuation zone, determine your “safe room” or a room that is away from windows and has walls close together. 10. Put shutters, window and door protection in place. 11. Do not trim branches or limbs from trees. These could become dangerous missiles if picked up by the wind. 12. Fill bathtubs and jugs with water. Figure on using a gallon of water per person per day. 13. If you have a pool you can always use that water to flush toilets. 14. Turn refrigerator and freezer settings to the coldest levels. Freeze water in plastic containers. Keeps thins cold even if freezer no longer runs. 15. Bring in any outdoor objects that could become projectiles in high winds: mailboxes, garbage cans, lawn furniture and garden tools. 16. Anchor anything that cannot be brought inside. 17. Install shutters or cover all your windows and doors. 18. Keep all windows closed during the storm. 19. Disconnect natural gas to individual appliances at the supply valves near each unit. Do not turn off the main gas line. Disconnect propane gas from individual appliances. 20. Remove valuable pictures and bric-a-brac from walls. 21. Wedge sliding glass doors with a bar. 22. Draw drapes and blinds. 23. Lower the water level in your pool. Turn off electricity to the pool and cover the pump equipment with waterproof material. Store child safety fences. 24. Gather your hurricane kit and stay in your safe room. Essentials for the room include your hurricane kit, sturdy shoes, something to cover your head such as a pillow or mattress and a fire extinguisher. 25. Did I mention getting some cash-out and the Pet food … “One is too small of a number to achieve great things.”