installing solar panels

5 Ways Solar Panels Can Improve Your Rental Property

There are numerous ways you can improve your rental property, make it more marketable, and even find an ideal tenant. In most cases, you don’t have to break the bank to transform your rental property into a potential tenant’s dream home. In fact, some upgrades (like solar panels) can return some cash into your pocket every month for over two decades. It doesn’t matter where the property is located or the average rent in the region.

Installing solar panels is one of the most efficient upgrades you can make to improve any rental property and it repays itself in a few years. Going green has numerous benefits, so you can choose to either go fully or partially off the power grid. And with so many people going green these days, installing solar panels can help your rental property attract a certain type of tenant. After all, you can never change your property’s location, the only thing you can do is try and upgrade it in order to attract the right kind of tenant. So, here are some of the ways installing solar panels can improve your rental properties.

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How Solar Panels Can Improve Your Rental Property

1. Solar Panels Can Make Your Property Energy Efficient

Replacing most of your home’s fixtures with energy-efficient light bulbs and adding a programmable thermostat can help lower the energy bills. This is because energy-efficient bulbs consume about 20% to 80% less energy than traditional bulbs. But this doesn’t necessarily help much with your rental property; after all, the tenants can install the fixtures themselves. However, according to Your Energy Blog, installing some solar panels and taking the house off the grid partially or fully can be a game-changer.

Solar panels can reduce your tenant’s utility bills and even return some cash to your pockets. The cost of installing solar panels may seem high, but in the long run, it will save you and your tenant some cash. An average property can save up to $30,000 over your solar panel system’s lifetime (which is about 25 years). As the property owner, you can get about 30% of the solar system’s total cost as federal income tax credits. Combined with the local and state SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) and rebates, this upgrade can pay for itself in no time.

2. Solar Panels Can Make Your Rental Property More Marketable

Upgrading any rental property can help make it marketable. With everyone focused on curb appeal, and remodeling their rental properties just to attract better-paying tenants, going green can attract a certain type of tenant. Installing solar panels can attract a wide range of people, including environmental-conscious individuals just like you. And if going green was your goal on all your properties, installing solar panels can attract more people who will help you keep the carbon footprint low.

A solar system can make any home marketable irrespective of its location. And with people looking for more ways to reduce their utility bills, this will make it stand out and help you get the right tenant within the shortest time possible.

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3. It Will Increase the Value Of Your Rental Property

Besides giving you a competitive edge, making the house energy efficient, and helping the environment, installing solar panels can increase your property’s value. According to a study done by Zillow, homes with solar systems sold for about 4.1% more than the ones with no solar power in 2018. For example, homes with solar systems in Riverside, California, sold for 2.7% more than those with no solar power. On the other hand, the solar-powered homes in New York City Metro went for double the rate of the houses sold in Riverside.

In other places like Orlando, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, solar-powered homes fetched a premium of approximately 4%. Therefore, installing a solar system in your rental property can potentially give you more cash in the future, if you ever plan on selling it. Solar-powered homes sell for more than houses without solar power because they can save the new owners cash in the future.

4. It Can Increase the Property’s Monthly Income

Tenants who use a lot of power understand the pain of paying huge energy bills every month. And since they are not able to purchase their own homes, they will look for places with solar systems. This means you can increase your rent a bit to help offset your expenses for the solar panel. These kinds of tenants won’t mind because, after all, they will be saving money in the long run. Installing a solar power system can make it possible for you to increase your rent despite where your home is located.

Plus, this will help you recover your investment faster, and your rental property will never stay in the market for too long despite the increased rent.

5. Solar Panels Will Reduce the Risk of Fire

A huge percentage of electrical fires are triggered by outdated appliances, faulty electrical outlets, and power surges. A power surge can originate from the electricity company, and it can damage most of the appliances in your rental property or even cause a fire in some cases. But with solar panels, you won’t have to worry as much about electrical fires or electrical application damages.

This is because solar systems can reduce the risk of an electric fire. In fact, it’s quite rare for this system to cause a fire. With a well-installed and regularly maintained solar system, you will never have to worry about power surges. And the fact that it’s quite cheap to maintain the solar panels, if you play your part, your risk of electrical fires in your rental property drops significantly.

Final Thoughts

Going green is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint and increase your home’s value. As a landlord, turning your property energy-efficient can attract a certain type of tenant. Solar panels can also make your home more marketable and make it possible for you to earn more income by increasing the rent without worrying about your home staying without tenants for a very long time.

Author bio: Kristen Chapple. Kristen is the editor and content creator at inspiredesignandcreate.com. She is passionate about sustainability in style and interior décor with a soft spot for DIY projects.

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