California Remodel Cost vs. Value › Projects
Caissonix report · 2026 · 13 California cities
Do Solar Panels Add Value to a California Home?
A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study of home sales from 2002 to 2013, mostly in California (Hoen and coauthors, 2015), found homes with owned solar sold for about $4.18 more per watt of capacity, roughly $15,000 for a 3.6 kW system. Leased systems were not part of that premium. The data is more than a decade old, so we show it as context only.
Our estimator does not price this project yet, so the cost side is blank for now.
Not an appraisal, a broker price opinion or a prediction of a sale price. Costs are budget estimates, not a bid, appraisal, or insurance claim valuation. Pilot.
The project we priced
Solar panels (owned system). Owned rooftop solar system. Our engine does not price stand-alone solar yet.
Same scope in every city. Your own home, size and finish choices will differ.
Resale value: what we can verify
Host-owned solar homes sold for about $4.18 more per watt of capacity (±$0.62), about $15,000 for a 3.6 kW system. Sales from 2002-2013 in eight states, mostly California.
Source: Hoen et al., "Selling Into the Sun: Price Premium Analysis of a Multi-State Dataset of Solar Homes", Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2015). https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/publications/selling-sun-price-premium-analysis
Shown as outside research context, with credit. It is not a Caissonix figure and is not applied to any city.
Value figures for this project are coming. Here is how we will get them, without borrowing anyone else's survey numbers:
- Public sales and permit records: compare homes that sold after a permitted project with similar homes that did not, county by county.
- A 2027 Caissonix survey of California real estate agents and appraisers, by region.
Until then, this page shows cost only. How we measure value.
Questions
Do Solar Panels Add Value to a California Home?
A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study of home sales from 2002 to 2013, mostly in California (Hoen and coauthors, 2015), found homes with owned solar sold for about $4.18 more per watt of capacity, roughly $15,000 for a 3.6 kW system. Leased systems were not part of that premium. The data is more than a decade old, so we show it as context only.
Is this an appraisal?
No. It is an informational report: budget cost estimates plus the resale value evidence we can verify from public records and published studies. It is not an appraisal, a broker price opinion or a prediction of what your home will sell for. For a valuation, ask a licensed appraiser or a local real estate professional.
Caissonix California Remodel Cost vs. Value, 2026 pilot edition. Cost figures computed 2026-10-31 from engine 0.10.0, price book 2026-10-31.1. Not an appraisal, a broker price opinion or a prediction of a sale price. Costs are budget estimates, not a bid, appraisal, or insurance claim valuation. Get licensed contractor bids before you decide.