What happens to home values (and homeowners insurance) when I go solar?

In 2019, Zillow released a report stating that homes with solar panels sell for 4.1% more than their generation-naked counterparts.

This confirmed research published years prior by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which found that homes with solar sold faster and for more than equivalent non-solar homes. Likewise, in a separate study across eight states in 2015, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that home buyers will pay a premium for solar homes.

But although adding solar will likely increase your home value, solar is exempt from property tax assessments in many states. A complete list of property tax incentives (and other incentives) by state can be found with the help of a couple of drop-down selections at DSIRE USA (https://programs.dsireusa.org/system/program/maps).

A common and related question is what effect, if any, solar has on homeowners insurance rates. In general, adding rooftop solar has little to no effect on homeowners insurance rates. Ground-mounted solar may require a separate rider.

For any new solar installation, we recommend talking to your insurance agent.

Liability Insurance requirements for solar by Midwestern state:

Illinois – You are required to have homeowners insurance that includes coverage for any damage to your solar panels. If you sell your Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs), you are also required to list your SREC aggregator on your homeowners insurance policy as an additional insured party.

Indiana – Liability coverage of at least $100,000 is required for net metered distributed generation.

Iowa – All distributed generation owners are required to provide proof of some type of general liability insurance as part of the interconnection agreement. For facilities of less than 1 MW, homeowners insurance is referred to by the rules as one acceptable form of general liability insurance without any specific minimum amount of coverage.

Michigan – Additional insurance requirements are prohibited for systems smaller than 150 kW and utilities may not require the customer to name the utility as an additional insured party.

Minnesota – Systems 40 kW or less require $300,000 in liability coverage.

Missouri – No insurance requirement for systems less than or equal to 10 kW. Liability coverage of at least $100,000 required for systems larger than 10 kW

Wisconsin – Systems 20 kW or less require $300,000 in liability coverage. Systems 20 kW to 200 kW require $1,000,000 in liability coverage.

For any new solar installation, we recommend talking to your insurance agent.

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