The energy crises may have subsided, but home owners remain willing to pay extra for homes with renewable energy systems.

It's not just because the homes may be politically correct, but more a practical matter of building greater equity and resale value.

More than 50 percent of California home owners surveyed said they would be willing to pay more for a home equipped with solar and wind technology, according to the California Energy Commission.

Maryland Marketing Research, Inc. conducted the survey of 300 California homeowners in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Fresno and San Diego, and found that more than 60 percent of home owners would be more interested in a home that has a renewable energy system already installed versus a home that does not.

"These are very promising findings about home owners' preferences," said Sandy Miller a commission spokeswoman.

"Residents who are considering remodeling their homes this spring should consider installing solar photovoltaics or wind turbines, depending on their site. It makes good sense financially, especially with the current rebates available through the Energy Commission," said Miller manager of the commission's Buydown Program.

The Buydown Program offers cash rebates to help offset the initial cost of a renewable energy system. Residents get $4.50 per watt or up to 50 percent of the total eligible system's cost, whichever is less.

The benefits of installing a renewable energy system and performing other energy saving retrofits extend beyond financial assistance and reduced energy bills. Installing solar or wind technology and building in other energy savings is likely to build home equity and even improve resale value.

Rick Nevin, vice president of ICF Consulting, a Fairfax, VA-based international consulting firm produced two scientific studies, "Evidence of Rational Market Evaluations For Home Energy Efficiency" and "More Evidence of Rational Market Evaluations For Home Energy Efficiency" that show how even simple energy-efficient home improvements can boost home value by $18,000.

Barbara Zeidman, director of the Los Angeles Partnership Office for Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of financing for home mortgages, sites the Village Green development in Sylmar, CA as an example of how cost-effective renewable systems can be for homeowners. Village Green is a 116-home, energy-efficient development built in partnership with Fannie Mae. The community uses solar photovoltaic panels in addition to other energy-efficient technologies.

"The average Village Green resident pays $20 per month in utility bills compared to the average bill of $200 per month for other Sylmar residents -- even their neighbors across the street. In Village Green, resale values have gone up and the residents' reduced monthly bills are proof positive that these types of systems make a genuine difference to their pocketbooks,'' says Zeidman.

Published: March 15, 2002

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.