Includes Visionary Solar Plus Storage Option
SACRAMENTO
First off all and Making it official. Yes folks, the California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) unanimously confirmed the new standards.
Standards that require solar on new homes in California starting in 2020.
This final regulatory vote confirms that the California Energy Commission (CEC). Especially since the CEC followed the correct process in developing the new rules established in May. Therefore making California the first state in the country with the clean energy requirement. The new rules include a solar plus storage option to give consumers more clean energy choices.
Home and for Renewable Energy too
Homebuyers will also have a solar plus storage option. Therefore allowing their home-grown clean energy to work for them day and night.
The CBSC voted today to confirm that the CEC followed the correct process to increase the clean energy requirements in the California Building Energy Standards. Updated every three years through a rigorous stakeholder process, the standards require California homes and businesses to meet strong energy efficiency measures, lowering their energy use.
Started January 2020
For the first time, they will require solar photovoltaic (PV) panels to be installed on new low-rise residential buildings starting January 1, 2020. Low-rise residential buildings include single family homes and multi-family buildings of three stories or less; therefore apartments and condos including in the new standards. Additionally, the vote sets a path forward for solar plus storage in new homes by providing a storage option if the homeowner chooses. The standards also continue solar water heating provisions for larger buildings, allowing solar energy continue to help reduce the water heating needs of our buildings.
For the past three years, the CEC performed detailed analysis on the new requirements, and gathered official public comments from all stakeholders. They are utilities, home builders, solar industry, lighting industry. Their analysis showed the new solar need will be cost-effective in all climate zones in the state. That’s from the mountains to the Central Valley to the coast. The CEC stated that homeowners would save $40 dollars each month. This is equal to roughly $500 per year. Cool part due to these new standards. This is because even though the new energy efficiency and solar requirement would add roughly $40 per month to the mortgage payment. So the savings on the homeowners’ energy bills will be to be about $80 per month.
Currently the solar industry installs solar on roughly 150,000 new and existing homes in California each year. That’s with roughly 15,000 of those projects being new homes. California on average builds 80,000 new homes annually. Starting in 2020, those new homes will have solar. That’s a four-fold increase compared to today.
