You’re ready to hop off the fence regarding solar panel installation for your Edmonton area home. To begin with, you’ve investigated your options which include the following:
- String Inverters
- Microinverters
- Power Optimizers
If you are unfamiliar, you can learn more about these residential solar options here. Beyond this analysis, you have considered the costs of solar panels in Edmonton, leading you further down the rabbit hole of deliberation. You’re now wondering how you can potentially make money by adding solar to your home. There are both direct and indirect ways that you can. Let’s review.
How Solar Panel Installation Can Help Edmonton Alberta Homeowners Make Money
Lower Energy Costs
While it varies by size and layout of a home, position and choice of solar panels, quality of installation, and general home occupant usage, solar panels save the average homeowner around $1,500 each year. Whether you look at it as “savings” or “earnings,” it equates to more money in your bank.
Grants
There are two grants available to Edmonton homeowners. The Change Homes for Climate grant of up to $4,000 from the City of Edmonton and the Greener Homes Retrofit Grant for up to $5,000. That is a total of up to $9,000 of grant funding for installing a Solar PV system on your home. As part of the service we provide, we will apply for the Change Homes for Climate grant on the homeowners behalf.
Interest-Free Retrofit Loan
Edmonton homeowners may qualify for The Greener Homes Retrofit Loan, an interest-free loan that allows you to access between $5,000 and $40,000. If the interest-free loan isn’t enough incentive, note that homeowners have a great 10-year timeline to repay the loan. You won’t find access to funds of that nature anywhere else. This initiative is part of Canada’s long-term strategy to reduce carbon emissions, including solar installation. Learn more about the program here.
Increase in Property Value
On average, evidence suggests that solar panels can improve the overall market value of a home by as much as 4 percent. However, in some areas, that number can be significantly higher. Take Edmonton, for instance. Edmonton is the second sunniest city in Canada, with approximately 2299 hours and 321 days of sun a year. Our property values flow in a more positive direction with solar panel installation.
An increase in property value is not just something that you only get to enjoy in the future if/when you sell your home. The increase in value can be leveraged as soon as you receive your annual assessment. This is because it equates to an increase in home equity over what it would have been without solar panel installation. You can borrow against this equity at a presumably better rate than what you typically pay to borrow an equal amount of money from Canada’s big banks or alternative private lenders. This money can then be used to invest in other opportunities that drive a rate of earnings higher than the interest owed on borrowing against equity. We’ll leave that part to your financial advisor. The moral of the story here is that solar panel upgrades increase property values and home equity and consequently enhance your opportunity to earn higher income on subsequent investments.
Increased Interest from the Short-Term Rental (STR) Market
Holders of a valid home-based Residential Rental Accommodation (Short-Term) business license in Edmonton who earn income from their property should consider solar panel installation. This has the potential to increase the potential to make money in a roundabout way (i.e. lower electric bills) but directly through increased bookings on the platforms used to rent a room, basement suite, or entire home. Airbnb has reported a 141% increase in bookings for eco-friendly homes worldwide. As vacationers want to reduce their carbon footprint, they seek out STRs that are more energy efficient. This can be a highly effective marketing tool for Edmonton STR property owners who want to increase bookings and make more money accordingly.
If you have any additional questions about how to make money by adding solar to your Edmonton home, contact BLDG Electric today.