Consumers in Malaysia are increasingly willing to pay more for green, or sustainable, products around the home. That’s even extending to paying more for a sustainable house or apartment.
Interestingly, few consumers are willing to pay more for product just to benefit the environment, according to research.
Consumers are more often motivated by the higher status that green products often bestow. Consumers are more strongly enticed by the lifetime savings that sustainable products can deliver.
A key selling point for green products is the potential to save money over the long-term. Economy is a factor when consumers swap beeswax wraps for petroleum-based plastic wrap, reusable straws for their disposable cousins, or up-cycled furniture for newly sofas and chairs.
The Green Factory in Ampang, Selangor, for example, produces a handsome, upcycled-wood utility box that is at least as attractive as similar, higher priced products made from raw materials.
Malaysians are paying more not just for the things that go into the home. The financial benefits mean that, by 2035, every new home purchase in the country could be topped by solar panels that quietly harvest the sun for energy. An increasing share of resale homes will also have the energy generating panels in place.
As a result, homeowners will have lower electricity bills, or they will receive a steady stream of income from a company that operates the solar panels on their roofs.
Either way, it spells more affordable homeownership for Malaysians.
The Green Energy Future Is Inevitable
Solar energy is already less expensive than new coal or other fossil fuel energy. Even relatively cool, cloudy, and wet countries are undergoing a solar revolution. In Ireland, solar is the country’s fastest-growing renewable power source, with 500 houses connecting to the grid every week.
Malaysia is much closer to the equator than Ireland, and strong solar irradiance makes solar even more viable here than in Europe. The Malaysia Renewable Energy Roadmap estimates a potential for 42 GW of rooftop solar in the country. That is well over twice the 17 GW potential for floating solar configurations.
The government aims for 70% of energy generation capacity by 2050 to be renewable. And it’s not just for feel-good climate reasons. A report from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change found that using more renewable energy will save Malaysia as much as US$13 billion annually by 2050.
The savings work out to an equivalent of about RM1,800 for every one of today’s Malaysians, at current exchange rates.
It’s Already Happening
Renewable energy already accounts for 16 per cent of total electricity generation, but most of that comes from hydroelectric installations.
Building new damns takes longer and is more expensive than putting panels on your home’s roof. It is also difficult to find sites appropriate for new hydroelectric plants, but there are more than 5.7 million residential properties in the country. Most of these have roofs suitable for solar.
I recently read about a petrol station manager named Peter Wong who had trouble affording his electricity bill of RM280 per month.
“My house has three air-conditioning units and during the MCO, and also during the heat wave, we would keep them turned on for longer hours,” he told the Malay Mail.
Instead of going broke, Wong installed 10 solar panels on the roof of his double-storey terrace house in Georgetown, Penang. Most months, he now pays nothing for electricity.
Homeowners Will Save
For Malaysia to achieve its renewable energy goals, more people need to follow Wong’s example and put solar panels on their roofs. That is becoming easier than ever.
A few months ago, Malaysia announced that its National Energy Transition Roadmap would help more households save money by installing solar.
“In every home, we intend to give households the option to lease out their rooftops in return for a monthly income that could lower their electricity bills and put more cash in their pockets,” said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.
Because solar installations cost less when built at scale, the programme will start by working with the developer of a new township near Kuala Lumpur. The developer will install solar panels on 450 homes in the township, generating an estimated 4.5MW of power per year. The project will cost the government nothing and will even earn a tidy monthly payment for the township’s new homeowners.
Homeowners who want to install solar on a property they already own can easily finance the installation. That’s because banks find it easy to predict the financial return you will receive from the panels, so they consider the financing a safe bet.
Buyers Already Prefer Green-Power Homes
Clean energy won’t just save the country billions of Ringgit. It is also already creating opportunities for Malaysians to get rich working in the sector or helping fund new projects.
The country’s energy transition could create opportunities for private companies to invest as much as RM1.85 trillion by 2050. Those investors will expect to earn a high return on their money.
For small scale projects, such as installing 10 panels on the roof of your home, you can earn back the cost of the panels in four to six years. (The exact payback period depends on a variety of factors.)
Even after they have paid for themselves, your solar panels will continue to earn you money. And, they can ensure you have energy during a blackout.
When our team sells a subsale property that has solar panels installed, buyers are willing to pay a higher price for it. Buying a home with solar panels is common sense for homebuyers.
Even though consumers are loath to pay more just to benefit the environment, green homewares and green energy are becoming the financially advantageous choice.
