Energy Valuation
Solar, efficiency retrofits and high-performance construction carry real value that a standard appraisal routinely records as nothing. Valued properly, on the Appraisal Institute’s green addendum, by an appraiser who knows the method.
The problem this solves
A homeowner spends thirty thousand dollars on an owned solar array. The house is appraised. The array is recorded as a feature, no adjustment is made, and the value contribution is zero — not because it is worthless, but because the appraiser had no supported method to say otherwise.
That is a defensible outcome for the appraiser and a bad one for the owner. The fix is not optimism about the number, it is having a method: production data, comparable evidence, and a reporting form built for exactly this.
Energy features we appraise
- Owned solar photovoltaic
- Leased & PPA solar — correctly, which often means no value
- Battery storage
- High-efficiency HVAC & heat pumps
- Envelope & insulation retrofits
- Windows & glazing upgrades
- Solar water heating
- High-performance new construction
Not listed? Ask. This is what comes up most, not a limit.
To value it properly
- The installation contract or invoice
- Whether the system is owned, financed, or leased — this changes the answer more than anything else
- Production or monitoring data, if you have it
- Warranty and any transferability terms
- Permits for efficiency work
On HERS ratings — plainly
A HERS Index rating is issued by a RESNET-certified Rater following an inspection and modelling protocol. That certification is one examination away, not in hand, and until it is this firm does not issue ratings and does not claim to.
What is offered today is the valuation side: what energy features contribute to value, supported and reported to a standard that survives a lender review or a challenge. When the rating certification is complete, this page will change.
Common questions
Do you issue HERS ratings?
Not yet. A HERS rating is performed by a RESNET-certified Rater, and that certification is one examination away rather than in hand. What I do today is value the improvements — what the solar array, the envelope, or the retrofit is actually worth in the appraisal. When the rating is certified this page will say so, and not a day before.
My appraisal gave my solar system no value. Is that normal?
It is common, and it is usually wrong. An appraiser who has not been trained in energy valuation frequently records solar as a neutral feature because they have no method to support an adjustment. Whether the system is owned or leased changes the answer completely, and a leased system genuinely may contribute nothing. An owned system with documented production usually does.
What do you need to value energy improvements?
Whatever documents the system: the installation contract, the inverter or production data, the warranty, whether it is owned, financed, or leased, and any efficiency work with permits. Production history is the strongest evidence there is.
Is this a separate appraisal or part of one?
Part of one. Energy features are valued within the residential appraisal, reported on the Appraisal Institute's Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum so the contributory value is stated explicitly rather than buried in a lump-sum adjustment.
Does this apply outside Arizona?
Real estate appraisal is a state-licensed activity, so the residential work is Arizona only. Personal property and equipment — including energy equipment appraised as personal property rather than as part of real estate — are not state-licensed and are accepted nationwide.
Arizona for real estate, nationwide for equipment
Residential appraisal is state-licensed and performed in Arizona. Energy equipment valued as personal property is not state-licensed and is accepted nationwide and internationally.
Ready for a number you can defend?
Tell us what you have and what it's for. You get a fixed written quote — never an hourly meter, never a sales call.