If you’ve checked out real estate listings lately on Zillow, you may have noticed a new category called the Sun Number. According to Zillow, the Sun Number gives homes a rating based on their potential for solar panels. Higher numbers mean that the home has a better chance of benefitting from solar power, which could lead to saving money.
There are a lot of factors that are analyzed to come up with this rating. One criteria is the number of solar panels that can fit on a roof. Then the direction that the roof faces is assessed. Additionally, the pitch or slope of the roof is calculated and finally the amount of shade on the roof. This can also be taken to mean whether your home is in a sunny state or not.
So why would house hunters (and homeowners) be so interested in knowing their Sun Number? And why did Zillow think it was important for the public to have this information? It turns out TheGeekEstateBlog.com conducted an interview with David Hermann from Sun Number and he explained that since solar power can be very confusing for consumers, a lot of people don’t bother to learn whether or not this technology would save them money. In many cases, the financial rewards are huge, especially here in Southern California. So the people at Sun Number decided to produce free, independent data to help people understand whether solar power might be a good fit for them.
Along comes Zillow, one of the largest home information websites out there. It is arguably one of the most popular websites people think of consulting when they want to learn more about homes. Typically people go to Zillow when they want to learn home values and house sizes, but Zillow has been incorporating lifestyle information like Walkscores into their data pool.
So why not include Sun Numbers? They are a great way for homeowners to try to improve their home’s efficiency. In addition to cutting down on the energy costs for residents, there are also federal tax credits that homeowners may be able to take advantage of when they invest in a solar system.
Now according to the website Go Solar California, the average investment to install a solar system on a residence is approximately $35,000. That figure may deter plenty of consumers, but if your home has a high Sun Number, it may be worth it to give it further thought. The longterm gains may outweigh the short term financial pain. Currently, you cannot search for homes by Sun Number score, but you can look at practically any home in our area and see the Sun Number. My home has a Sun Number of 45. Go to Zillow.com to check out yours.
By Holly Shwartz
Holly Schwartz is a realtor with Villa Real Estate who lives in Eastside Costa Mesa and has been featured on HGTV’s “House Hunters.” She can be reached at HSchwartz@VillaRealEstate.com.
