How Energy Efficiency Upgrades Can Increase Your Home Value

How Energy Efficiency Upgrades Can Increase Your Home Value

As market trends and values repeatedly confirm, Australians want comfortable and safe homes that are cost-effective to reside in. But that’s not the only reason driving the increase in energy efficiency upgrades across Australian households, because upgrades can provide numerous benefits, from reducing carbon footprints to improving property values - there’s seemingly no end of reasons to make your home more energy-efficient. 

With the rise in property prices a consistently hot topic in the news, the impact of energy efficiency upgrades on property prices has been getting a lot of attention. A 2023 study prepared for CommBank shows that 71% of Australians surveyed believe energy efficiency plays a role in improving property values, with double-glazed windows, LED lighting, increased insulation, solar panels, home batteries, and solar / heat pump hot water systems among the most important energy-efficient features to Australians.¹

Most Australian homes were built before legislation required architects and builders to meet minimum energy ratings, so a significant percentage of homes nationwide would benefit from energy-efficient upgrades. And not only in terms of property value either – there are many lifestyle and health benefits for households in addition to fiscal benefits like property prices. To put this in perspective, most Australian homes are now built to a six-star energy rating – which is now increasing to a seven-star rating in most states and territories – but homes built in 1990 only averaged one star.² 

That means owners of older homes are likely to be using and paying for more energy than they need to unless they invest in the right energy-efficient upgrades. While older homes will often require cooling, heating, and insulation upgrades to bring their energy rating in line with newer homes, all Australian homes, including new-build homes, will benefit from upgrades that increase energy independence, like rooftop solar panels and home batteries. Let’s look at the link between energy efficiency and property value in greater detail. 

How do energy-efficient upgrades boost property value?

As energy-efficient upgrades help households reduce their energy expenditure, these renovations add value by making the property more cost-effective to reside in. Following on from this, another financial benefit upgrades deliver is enabling households to add features that modernise their home, so energy-efficient upgrades are a means of making your home more comfortable and enjoyable to live in while using less energy. That’s not only good for your finances, it’s also good for the environment, and that’s an important consideration among an increasingly conscientious population. This trend is highlighted in a late-2023 study in which 73% said reducing energy bills is the main reason for seeing energy efficiency as important while 51% also cited wanting to lower their environmental impact.5

It can’t be denied that energy costs are quite an issue at the moment and that this is helping to drive more interest in energy-efficient homes, however, there’s long been a link between energy efficiency and property value. For example, a 2015 study from property website realestate.com.au and energy provider Origin found that 85% of Australians believe rooftop solar increases property value,³ while a 2017 Australian Bureau of Statistics study found homeowners could add around twice as much value to their home as the initial outlay.⁴ 

So, it’s no secret that energy efficiency has long been important to both homeowners and homebuyers, but what’s really notable is just how much more important it’s become. In a study in late 2023, 68% said that energy efficiency ratings were important, with 34% saying they were ‘extremely important’, an increase of 6% compared with the previous year.5 In short, energy-efficient upgrades boost property value because energy-efficient homes are more desirable to homebuyers for reasons that are largely financial, but often focused just as strongly on the environmental and social benefits of reducing our energy usage. 

What are the benefits of home solar battery systems?

With solar panels accounting for 77% of all energy-efficiency related searches on the property website realestate.com.au,5 it’s clear which energy-efficient upgrade would be most beneficial in making a property more appealing to homebuyers. While that percentage is for Queensland, the aptly named ‘Sunshine State’, solar panels were still the most searched for energy-efficient feature across all states and territories, except for the ACT.⁵  

So, if solar panels are so popular among homebuyers, what’s boosting their popularity? For starters, solar panels need just one thing to generate electricity – sunshine! – and as that’s something Australia’s got in abundance, most homeowners can get into the solar game. Further benefits to going solar at home include saving money through lower grid electricity consumption, solar panels are more affordable than ever – and continue to get cheaper – and powering your home when the grid is down (and the sunshine is sufficient).  And back to the impact of energy-efficient upgrades on property values once again, going solar will help to increase the value of your home. 

Another benefit to going solar at home is the opportunity to take the benefits up a level or two by adding a home battery which allows you to save excess energy and use more of the power your solar panels produce. Reducing your energy bills is one of the big benefits to adding a home battery to your rooftop solar setup and with escalating energy prices, it’s little wonder it’s now one of the most sought-after energy-efficient upgrades. Along with saving excess energy and reducing grid electricity usage, home battery benefits include: 

• Long lifespan and low maintenance – Your new solar battery storage system will last a long time and provide you with years of clean energy, with minimal maintenance required to keep it operating at optimal levels. 
• Reduce your carbon footprint – Solar power systems produce clean energy with no harmful emissions or by-products. With an increasingly conscious population, it’s a popular reason for going solar and backing it up with a home battery. 
• Backup power source – Solar batteries provide backup power in case of a power outage. With increased blackouts caused by natural disasters, this is an increasingly essential feature that’s helping to boost the popularity of home batteries. 

Learn more about the benefits of solar batteries with blackout protection and why they’re gaining popularity in our article, ‘Blackout protection – What is it & why does it matter?’. ​

Additional savings​ with rebates

With home battery schemes and rebates that provide subsidies or interest-free loans to households rolled out in most states and territories, you may find there’s an easy way to add a home solar system to your property and add value​ to your home – while increasing energy security, lowering energy expenditure, and reducing your carbon footprint. Find out which solar battery rebates or loans you may be eligible for and if you’re completely new to solar and haven’t yet added solar panels to your roof, be sure to look for a rebate or subsidy which will cover at least part (if not all) of the upfront cost of buying solar panels. 

Join the thousands of Australian households who’ve installed a solar battery and open the door to a more cost-effective and energy-independent future. To get started on your journey to energy independence today, explore the sonnen range.

¹ Research shows 7 in 10 Australians believe energy efficiency a way to increase property value

² Increase your property’s value by boosting its energy rating

³ 85% of Aussies say solar panels boost property prices

⁴ Changes that add value

⁵ More Queensland property seekers want energy-efficient homes