Using a range of machine-learning techniques, a group of scientists found that PV systems can significantly increase the value of a property in the United Kingdom. The analysis was based on property data from Zoopla, one of the leading providers of UK property listings, and price paid data sourced from the government’s Land Registry from 2012-2018.
Scientists from the United Kingdom have employed a machine-learning (ML) technique to assess whether properties with solar panels are associated with higher sale prices in the British real estate market and have found that PV-equipped houses have a price premium.
“There is a consensus that energy efficiency and being labeled as ‘green’ are valued favorably in the housing market,” said the researchers. “The evidence exclusively focusing on the effect of solar panels, however, remains relatively scarce and concentrates on the US and Australian real estate market. Our focus is on the effect of solar PV systems on sale prices in the UK housing market, for which no prior evidence exists.”
The researchers ran meta-learner algorithms on about 5 million observations and property data of Zoopla, one of the leading providers of UK property listings, and the price paid data (PPD) from the government’s Land Registry from 2012-2018. Equipping the algorithms with keywords such as “PV panel” and “solar,” they categorized listings for houses having or not having solar production. Then, they could match 80% of those listings with real PPD.
Read more: pvmagazine
