Solar & home value calculator
See how much solar panels could add to your home's value, and how that compares to what the system cost.
What this means for you
See how the added value compares to the system cost, and how sensitive the result is to the uplift percentage.
Compare uplift estimates
3-4% is a research-based average, not a guarantee — see the range between a conservative and optimistic estimate.
| Scenario | Uplift % | Added value |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 2% | $0 |
| Current | 3.5% | $0 |
| Optimistic | 5% | $0 |
Even the optimistic estimate is well short of most systems' full replacement cost — value uplift is a bonus on top of bill savings, not a way to fully recoup your investment through resale alone.
Assumptions & sources
NZ property research suggesting a 3-4% average value uplift for homes with solar, adjusted here to a 2-5% range to reflect market uncertainty.
1 July 2026
17 July 2026
Added value = home value × uplift %. Net equity gain = added value − system cost.
Estimated property value uplift compared against your solar system's installed cost.
Ongoing bill savings (see the solar savings calculator), real estate agent fees on sale, and buyer-specific preferences that can push actual results above or below this range.
Related reading
Is solar really worth it?
Solar panels cost thousands upfront — here's when the payback maths actually works in your favour, and when it doesn't.
Read article →
How does NZ stack up against Australia in residential solar?
Australia has one of the highest rooftop solar rates in the world. Here's why NZ lags behind — and whether that's changing.
Read article →Two different benefits, one investment
Solar delivers value in two distinct ways that are easy to conflate: the bill savings you bank every year you live in the home, and the resale premium a buyer might pay because they're inheriting those future savings too. NZ research points to roughly a 3-4% uplift in property value on average — meaningful, but well short of the full replacement cost of a system, since a buyer is really only paying for a discounted share of future savings, adjusted for the system's remaining useful life and any perceived risk.
In practice this means solar rarely "pays for itself twice" — once through bill savings and again in full through resale value — but the combination of both benefits still makes it a genuinely strong long-term investment for most NZ homeowners who stay put for several years.
Example: Selling a $620,000 Nelson home with an owned system
Sela's home is valued at $620,000 without solar, and her owned system cost $12,500 to install.
At a 3.5% research-based uplift, solar adds approximately $21,700 to her home's value when she comes to sell.
That's more than her $12,500 system cost, for a net equity gain of approximately $9,200 — on top of whatever she already saved on power bills while living there.
That's the double benefit in practice — Sela banked electricity savings every year she lived there, then recovered most of her system cost again at resale, without those two benefits overlapping or double-counting the same dollars.
Frequently asked questions
NZ research suggests solar adds roughly 3-4% to property value on average — on a $700,000 home, that's about $21,000-$28,000. This isn't guaranteed for every property and tends to be more reliable for owned systems in good condition.
No — bill savings accrue every year you live there, while the value uplift is only realised if you sell. A buyer is effectively paying upfront for a share of future savings, which is why the uplift is smaller than the system's full cost.
