Copyright 2018 - The Energy Show, Barry Cinnamon. All Rights Reserved.

California continues to lead the country when it comes to clean and inexpensive energy. Here is an example – In May the California Energy Commission passed a new rule that goes into effect on January 1st 2020 and it’s a really big deal! This rule requires that new homes have a photovoltaic system sized to zero out their annual electrical use. The rule applies to all new homes, apartments and condos under three stories tall. The rule also includes an option to include an energy storage system. I’ve received a number of calls and emails from people both in favor of and against this new rule over the last few weeks. The things that I really like about this new rule is that new homebuyers will definitely save money. We’ve done hundreds of installations on new homes and it works out really well for the new homeowner. And here’s why –According to numbers from the California Energy Commission, which by-the-way, I actually think they are fairly conservative when looking at the benefits: The cost of a new system on a mortgage would be an extra $80 per month on a typical mortgage. And that’s without the tax credit. The monthly savings with current electric bills are estimated to be $40 per month. So the net monthly savings is $40 per month which equates to almost $500 per year. So every new home that has solar on it is going to come out $500 cash flow positive every year. It’s good for new homes and good for new home buyers, but it’s also good because I think it’s going to increase the awareness of solar on residential rooftops. 152

But, there are also some negatives about this new rule. Some people have a visceral reaction against mandates. They simply don’t want to be told what to do and this is something that is going to slightly increase the cost of a new home. Keep in mind, mandates exist because we are trying to help people. After all, seatbelts are mandated too. There are a lot of other things that go into your home like insulation, guarantees, and certain types of equipment. It’s all mandated and now solar is being mandated. It will increase the cost of a home and homes in California are already really expensive. So while it’s true that costs will go up a little bit, there will be positive net savings for each and every one of these new home owners.

To learn more about the details on this new ruling on solar and battery storage for new homes in California, Listen Up to this week’s Energy Show.