Living in Johannesburg we have according to this image 8.4 hours of sunshine per day (3066 hours) which is fine especially when even on cloudy days the solar system works just as well. We are adding another 8 x 560 w solar panels which will add an extra 40% power generation to the 20 panels we have already. We were planning on installing this week and is now highly unlikely due to a curve ball at work which I will discuss once the problem has been resolved and cannot discuss here for legal reasons.
I was talking to an estate agent who I have known for a very long time and who I trust as he knows the market that well and his estate agency is the top one in my area. If I am not sure on anything property wise I always run things past him first to double check my thinking. Trends and peoples needs change over time with a high percentage of property buyers being females now. Not that you have to think like a female which is a tough one, but being aware that they may be the buyer of your property and that means they want it complete and not a project.
We were talking all things solar mainly as I would like to know what the market is doing with regard to houses that have solar installations. The problem is the majority of properties that have solar are more for back up in case the power goes down for a number of hours and is not an off grid installation. There are no properties i have seen for sale that offer what we have and why I was curious if someone could tell me.
The houses that have the smaller systems are fairly common and those property owners normally get back what they have invested into the system which for the average size is around R150K or $10K. The majority of the people do not use the solar for everyday use and this sits idle until when required. Sounds a bit crazy but this is the size of these systems with a smallish inverter and only around 5Kwh battery storage. This would most likely only power an average 4 bedroom home on basic plugs and lights for around 4 hours.
He had a look at what we have done thus far and explained what we are adding to increase our off grid capacity. He was unsure on the overall added value and made some calls which turns out the investment has doubled and is worth around R600K or $40K. Property buyers are looking for greener options with renewable energy and properties that are off the grid are rare and in demand. This is pleasing to know because the spend was significant and even the small additions are worth more than other installations which are very basic and offer no real returns.
Being maybe one of 10 properties in the entire region who has this size of installation it comforts me to know that the return on investment is there. Not only the monthly savings which should pay the system off fairly quickly within a 4-6 year period, but also knowing I would receive the investment back when selling the property.
The yearly electricity price increases will not affect my property once I am fully off the grid and people buying the property would see that as savings on outgoing monthly expenses. The long term plan would be to sell the property in the next few years once we finalize our move overseas.
Plenty of work still has to be done on the property that is going to take quite a bit of cash to fix. The pool which is a major selling point needs to be redone entirely and the only saving is the hole has already been dug. The kitchens and bathrooms need redoing and the entire upstairs entertainment area needs to be modernized. The positives is that any money spent will see a great return due to buying the property at a very good price. Profits are always made in the buying and not necessarily the selling.