Experts: Real Estate Buyers Prefer Homes Equipped with Solar Panels
Real estate buyers are increasingly preferring houses with solar panels installed on the roof, although selling the electricity generated from them is no longer very profitable. However, it is still worthwhile to continue investing in building a solar roof if the goal is to consume most of the produced electricity yourself, according to the real estate portal Kinnisvara24 CEO Urmas Uibomäe and solar roof manufacturer Solarstone OÜ CEO Romet Roosalu.
"When electricity prices kept setting new records, search volumes for single-family homes and apartment buildings equipped with solar panels grew exponentially on real estate portals. Similarly, searches for electric car charging opportunities increased sharply when the government disclosed its motor vehicle tax plan," said Kinnisvara24 CEO Urmas Uibomäe. According to him, Kinnisvara24 portal statistics show that searches for real estate listings with both solar panels and electric car charging options have increased several times over the past year. He believes demand for these will continue to grow in the future, especially considering that with solar panels, it is possible to charge an electric car at home for free.
"In the case of similar real estate offerings, it is clear that a house with solar panels generating electricity on its roof has a competitive advantage. At the same time, buyers certainly want to know what the ongoing costs associated with solar panels are and the payback period," explained Uibomäe. Currently, Kinnisvara24 portal offers 793 apartments and single-family homes with solar panels mentioned in the listing. For new developments with A-energy class, this has already become standard.
However, solar panels no longer generate income for homeowners as they did a few years ago, because the number of smaller and larger solar parks has increased explosively. KredExi subsidies intended for their installation have also contributed to this. According to Elektrilevi, the volume of solar parks has quadrupled over the past five years, and their total capacity has risen above 800 MW today. Therefore, in summer, solar panels in Estonia already produce so much electricity that on sunny days its price becomes negative, and producers have to pay when selling electricity after accounting for grid fees.
"Electricity prices fluctuate greatly because large numbers of industrial solar parks have entered the market, so selling solar-generated electricity to the grid is no longer as profitable during the best solar electricity generation times. However, if the goal is to produce electricity mainly for household consumption, installing a solar roof or conventional panels is well justified in terms of investment," confirmed Solarstone OÜ CEO Romet Roosalu. According to him, their clients install solar roofs primarily for their own use.
To use solar electricity effectively, an energy storage system should also be added to the system and advantage should be taken of market price changes. "Electricity stored in batteries can be used for your own consumption during high market prices or even sold to the grid," said Roosalu.
According to him, the Chinese have flooded the solar panel market with their production, which is why their prices have fallen 2-3 times over the past few years. This has also brought down the prices of building-integrated solutions, including solar roofs. "Since electricity consumption is constantly growing and the installation of solar panels and roofs is becoming increasingly affordable while energy storage is becoming cheaper, producing electricity from the sun for the needs of a home or business still has great future prospects," confirmed Roosalu. For example, with Solarstone solar roof, the investment pays for itself in 3-5 years.
