California is moving to require solar panels on all newly built single-family houses, the first statewide mandate in the nation. That's expected to save buyers money in the long run, but it will raise their upfront costs at a time when many are already struggling to afford their mortgages.
The state's Energy Commission is scheduled to vote today on the rules, which are expected to pass and take effect in 2020. The rules, which would also apply to new multifamily buildings of three stories or less, don't need the approval of the Legislature.
The rules package follows other code updates that have already made new homes and commercial buildings greener in recent years, including when regulators in 2012 required roofs to be built in ways that allow solar panels to be added easily.
The mandates, which have gained support from the construction industry, include new insulation and air filter requirements and are part of a larger effort to update building standards in order to use new structures to combat climate change.
A spokesman for the Energy Commission, Amber Beck, said buyers of new homes on average would see monthly mortgage payments rise by $40, while their monthly utility bills would decline by $80.
Over time, such savings are expected to more than make up for an increased down payment -- even if builders passed along every cent in costs, something that isn't a certainty.
Currently, about a fifth of new homes come with solar panels, one business group estimates.
"Going to 100 percent is a really big, big jump," said Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association, which represents San Fernando Valley businesses and opposes the mandate.
The proposal before the commission seems to address one of the state's most pressing issues -- reducing greenhouse gas emissions -- while exacerbating, at least in the short run, another: the increasingly high cost of housing.
Residential and commercial buildings are estimated to contribute about 40 percent of the state's greenhouse gas emissions, said Andrew McAllister, a state energy commissioner.
But some affordable-housing proponents have criticized the role that state and local mandates play in driving housing costs higher. In California's coastal communities, at least, research has found that the sharp rise in housing costs is mostly driven by rising land costs, said Issi Romem, chief economist at BuildZoom, a permit and contractor data analysis website.
Business on 05/09/2018