IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bir/birmec/23-01.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Returns to Solar Panels in the Housing Market: A Meta Learner Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Elias Asproudis

    (Swansea University)

  • Cigdem Gedikli

    (Swansea University)

  • Oleksandr Talavera

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Okan Yilmaz

    (Swansea University)

Abstract

This paper aims to estimate the returns to solar panels in the UK residential housing market. Our analysis applies a causal machine learning approach to Zoopla property data containing about 5 million observations. Drawing on meta-learner algorithms, we provide strong evidence fortifying that solar panels are directly capitalized into sale prices. Our results point to a selling price premium above 6 percent (range between 6.2 percent to 6.9 percent depending on the meta-learner) associated with solar panels. Considering that the average selling price is 230,536 GBP in our sample, this corresponds to an additional 14,293 GBP to 15,906 GBP selling price premium for houses with solar panels. Our results are robust to traditional hedonic pricing models and matching techniques.

Suggested Citation

  • Elias Asproudis & Cigdem Gedikli & Oleksandr Talavera & Okan Yilmaz, 2023. "Returns to Solar Panels in the Housing Market: A Meta Learner Approach," Discussion Papers 23-01, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
    • Handle: RePEc:bir:birmec:23-01
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repec.cal.bham.ac.uk/pdf/23-01.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Deng, Yongheng & Li, Zhiliang & Quigley, John M., 2012. "Economic returns to energy-efficient investments in the housing market: Evidence from Singapore," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 506-515.
    2. Jerry Haag & Ronald Rutherford & Thomas Thomson, 2000. "Real Estate Agent Remarks: Help or Hype?," Journal of Real Estate Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1-2), pages 205-216, January.
    3. Hyland, Marie & Lyons, Ronan C. & Lyons, Seán, 2013. "The value of domestic building energy efficiency — evidence from Ireland," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 943-952.
    4. Miranowski, John & Dinan, T., 1989. "Estimating the Implicit Price of Energy Efficiency Improvement in the Residential Housing Market: A Hedonic Approach," Staff General Research Papers Archive 10698, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    5. Kahn, Matthew E. & Kok, Nils, 2014. "The capitalization of green labels in the California housing market," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 25-34.
    6. Michael T. Bond & Vicky L. Seiler & Michael J. Seiler, 2002. "Residential Real Estate Prices: A Room with a View," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 23(1/2), pages 129-138.
    7. X Nie & S Wager, 2021. "Quasi-oracle estimation of heterogeneous treatment effects [TensorFlow: A system for large-scale machine learning]," Biometrika, Biometrika Trust, vol. 108(2), pages 299-319.
    8. Matthew Blackwell & Stefano Iacus & Gary King & Giuseppe Porro, 2009. "cem: Coarsened exact matching in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(4), pages 524-546, December.
    9. Dinan, Terry M. & Miranowski, John A., 1989. "Estimating the implicit price of energy efficiency improvements in the residential housing market: A hedonic approach," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 52-67, January.
    10. Robert Halvorsen & Henry O. Pollakowski, 1981. "The Effects of Fuel Prices on House Prices," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 18(2), pages 205-211, June.
    11. Evangelista, Rui & Silva, João Andrade e & Ramalho, Esmeralda A., 2022. "How heterogeneous is the impact of energy efficiency on dwelling prices? Evidence from the application of the unconditional quantile hedonic model to the Portuguese residential market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    12. Palm, A., 2020. "Early adopters and their motives: Differences between earlier and later adopters of residential solar photovoltaics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    13. Adam Nowak & Patrick Smith, 2017. "Textual Analysis in Real Estate," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 896-918, June.
    14. Ben Hoen & Ryan Wiser & Mark Thayer & Peter Cappers, 2013. "Residential Photovoltaic Energy Systems In California: The Effect On Home Sales Prices," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 31(4), pages 708-718, October.
    15. Jerry T. Haag & Ronald C. Rutherford & Thomas A. Thomson, 2000. "Real Estate Agent Remarks: Help or Hype?," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 20(1), pages 205-215.
    16. Eric O’Shaughnessy & Galen Barbose & Ryan Wiser & Sydney Forrester & Naïm Darghouth, 2021. "The impact of policies and business models on income equity in rooftop solar adoption," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 84-91, January.
    17. Johnson, Ruth C & Kaserman, David L, 1983. "Housing Market Capitalization of Energy-Saving Durable Goods Investments," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 21(3), pages 374-386, July.
    18. Xingchi Shen & Pengfei Liu & Yueming (Lucy) Qiu & Anand Patwardhan & Parth Vaishnav, 2021. "Estimation of change in house sales prices in the United States after heat pump adoption," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 30-37, January.
    19. Robinson, Peter M, 1988. "Root- N-Consistent Semiparametric Regression," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(4), pages 931-954, July.
    20. Dastrup, Samuel R. & Graff Zivin, Joshua & Costa, Dora L. & Kahn, Matthew E., 2012. "Understanding the Solar Home price premium: Electricity generation and “Green” social status," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(5), pages 961-973.
    21. Best, Rohan & Burke, Paul J. & Nepal, Rabindra & Reynolds, Zac, 2021. "Effects of rooftop solar on housing prices in Australia," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(03), January.
    22. Lan, Haifeng & Gou, Zhonghua & Yang, Linchuan, 2020. "House price premium associated with residential solar photovoltaics and the effect from feed-in tariffs: A case study of Southport in Queensland, Australia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 907-916.
    23. Susan Athey & Guido W. Imbens, 2019. "Machine Learning Methods That Economists Should Know About," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 11(1), pages 685-725, August.
    24. Zheng, Siqi & Wu, Jing & Kahn, Matthew E. & Deng, Yongheng, 2012. "The nascent market for “green” real estate in Beijing," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(5), pages 974-984.
    25. Andrea Chegut & Piet Eichholtz & Rogier Holtermans & Juan Palacios, 2020. "Energy Efficiency Information and Valuation Practices in Rental Housing," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 181-204, February.
    26. Potrawa, Tomasz & Tetereva, Anastasija, 2022. "How much is the view from the window worth? Machine learning-driven hedonic pricing model of the real estate market," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 50-65.
    27. Sexton, Steven E. & Sexton, Alison L., 2014. "Conspicuous conservation: The Prius halo and willingness to pay for environmental bona fides," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 303-317.
    28. King, Gary & Nielsen, Richard, 2019. "Why Propensity Scores Should Not Be Used for Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(4), pages 435-454, October.
    29. Fuerst, Franz & McAllister, Patrick & Nanda, Anupam & Wyatt, Peter, 2015. "Does energy efficiency matter to home-buyers? An investigation of EPC ratings and transaction prices in England," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 145-156.
    30. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    31. Qingyuan Zhao & Trevor Hastie, 2021. "Causal Interpretations of Black-Box Models," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 272-281, January.
    32. Qiu, Yueming & Wang, Yi David & Wang, Jianfeng, 2017. "Soak up the sun: Impact of solar energy systems on residential home values in Arizona," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 328-336.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fuerst, Franz & McAllister, Pat & Nanda, Anupam & Wyatt, Pete, 2016. "Energy performance ratings and house prices in Wales: An empirical study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 20-33.
    2. Andrea Chegut & Piet Eichholtz & Rogier Holtermans & Juan Palacios, 2020. "Energy Efficiency Information and Valuation Practices in Rental Housing," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 181-204, February.
    3. Konstantin A Kholodilin & Andreas Mense & Claus Michelsen, 2017. "The market value of energy efficiency in buildings and the mode of tenure," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(14), pages 3218-3238, November.
    4. Andreas Mense, 2018. "The Value of Energy Efficiency and the Role of Expected Heating Costs," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 71(3), pages 671-701, November.
    5. Fuerst, Franz & Shimizu, Chihiro, 2016. "Green luxury goods? The economics of eco-labels in the Japanese housing market," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 108-122.
    6. de Ayala, Amaia & Galarraga, Ibon & Spadaro, Joseph V., 2016. "The price of energy efficiency in the Spanish housing market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 16-24.
    7. Rohan Best & Paul J. Burke & Rabindra Nepal & Zac Reynolds, 2021. "Effects of rooftop solar on housing prices in Australia," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 65(3), pages 493-511, July.
    8. Copiello, Sergio, 2017. "Building energy efficiency: A research branch made of paradoxes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1064-1076.
    9. Chegut, Andrea & Eichholtz, Piet & Holtermans, Rogier, 2016. "Energy efficiency and economic value in affordable housing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 39-49.
    10. Taruttis, Lisa & Weber, Christoph, 2022. "Estimating the impact of energy efficiency on housing prices in Germany: Does regional disparity matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    11. Fuerst, Franz & Oikarinen, Elias & Harjunen, Oskari, 2016. "Green signalling effects in the market for energy-efficient residential buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 560-571.
    12. Lu Zhang & Lennart Stangenberg & Sjors van Wickeren, 2020. "The information value of energy labels: Evidence from the Dutch residential housing market," CPB Discussion Paper 413.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    13. Giraudet, Louis-Gaëtan, 2020. "Energy efficiency as a credence good: A review of informational barriers to energy savings in the building sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    14. Lu Zhang & Lennart Stangenberg & Sjors van Wickeren, 2020. "The information value of energy labels: Evidence from the Dutch residential housing market," CPB Discussion Paper 413, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    15. Wee, Sherilyn, 2016. "The effect of residential solar photovoltaic systems on home value: A case study of Hawai‘i," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 282-292.
    16. Louis-Gaëtan Giraudet, 2018. "Energy efficiency as a credence good: A review of informational barriers to building energy savings," Working Papers 2018.07, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    17. Jiro Yoshida & Ayako Sugiura, 2015. "The Effects of Multiple Green Factors on Condominium Prices," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 412-437, April.
    18. Fuerst, Franz & McAllister, Patrick & Nanda, Anupam & Wyatt, Peter, 2015. "Does energy efficiency matter to home-buyers? An investigation of EPC ratings and transaction prices in England," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 145-156.
    19. Cigdem Gedikli & Robert Hill & Oleksandr Talavera & Okan Yilmaz, 2023. "The hidden cost of smoking: Rent premia in the housing market," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 51(3), pages 611-629, May.
    20. Zalejska Jonsson, Agnieszka, 2018. "The Relationship between Environmental Factors and Purchasing Decisions in the Residential Market," Working Paper Series 18/1, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management & Banking and Finance.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    solar panels; residential housing market; sale prices; machine-learning; meta-learners;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bir:birmec:23-01. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oleksandr Talavera (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/debhauk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.