Architects are in the driver's seat when it comes to building new homes or overseeing major remodeling projects. Although they are familiar with rooftop solar, their designs generally do not include solar panels. Whether it's because of cost, technology or aesthetics, it's a big opportunity that is lost to almost all new homeowners.

Fortunately, this reluctance to include solar panels as a standard feature is beginning to change. Some national homebuilders offer solar as a standard option, and the overall economics of rooftop solar continues to improve. A recent study has found that the single most important factor driving whether a given homeowner installs solar is peer influence -- essentially, whether their neighbors have solar, also. So new home buyers, custom home builders and home remodeling companies are more likely to ask their architects for rooftop solar.

My guest this week is Marvin Bamburg, the principle at MBA Architects, a San Jose-based residential and commercial architecture firm. His firm has been incorporating rooftop solar in his designs for over a dozen years. Please join me on this week's Energy Show on Renewable Energy World as Marvin provides an architect's perspective on incorporating rooftop solar in the design, sale and construction process for residential homes.