California to require solar panels on all new homes. What about the costs? (buyers, calculation)

[blam]

This is good but what would be even better if they banned all gas powered vehicles and only allow electric ones.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by blam

This is good but what would be even better if they banned all gas powered vehicles and only allow electric ones.

You are right. Instantly the freeways and highways would be empty and people would just be walking miles to work which would be good for their health.

[expatCA]

Just had an interesting thought about this.


Millennial's will not like it. To work, the only buildings that will be able to be built will be:


SFH, Duplex, triplex, quadraplexes and similar and town homes.


Multi story buildings, apts, condo's, will not have enough roof space to supply all the dwellings, so housing will not grow in CA as it has done in NYC.


Yup, prices will go up and more people will be priced out and high rise units will not be built.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by expatCA

Just had an interesting thought about this.
Millennial's will not like it. To work, the only buildings that will be able to be built will be:
SFH, Duplex, triplex, quadraplexes and similar and town homes.
Multi story buildings, apts, condo's, will not have enough roof space to supply all the dwellings, so housing will not grow in CA as it has done in NYC.
Yup, prices will go up and more people will be priced out and high rise units will not be built.

It only applies to single family homes and multi-family dwellings that are no higher than 3 stories.

[BB_210]

Originally Posted by blam

This is good but what would be even better if they banned all gas powered vehicles and only allow electric ones.

Millions of people would lose their jobs.

[ringwise]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Maybe because conserving energy and offering non carbon based alternative energy is something that is important to most people living in California.

First of all, do you know for a fact that "most people" in CA find that important? Or are you only basing that on what you think they find important?

Secondly, while I'm sure conserving energy is important to most Californians, I think they should be able to decide FOR THEMSELVES how they accomplish the conservation. Instead of the government making that decision for them.

Lastly, if conserving energy were truly important, solar panels would probably be on the bottom of the list, since manufacturing them uses far more energy than they save in their use.

[ZeApelido]

Maybe I missed it, but otherwise I can't believe no one in this thread has stated that homebuyers are going to save money overall. The myopic statements about simply added cost to the house price are missing the bottom line: how much per month do homebuyers pay out of pocket for home costs?

From NYT article:

For residential homeowners, based on a 30-year mortgage, the Energy Commission estimates that the standards will add about $40 to an average monthly payment, but save consumers $80 on monthly heating, cooling and lighting bills.

So your mortgage payment will indeed go up, but your electric bill will go down even more. So you are saving money.

[Bill the Butcher]

Originally Posted by ringwise

Lastly, if conserving energy were truly important, solar panels would probably be on the bottom of the list, since manufacturing them uses far more energy than they save in their use.

It seems this used to be the case. I can't find any articles currently that still support the idea that solar panels built today use more energy in their production than they will ever produce over their lifetime.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by ringwise

First of all, do you know for a fact that "most people" in CA find that important? Or are you only basing that on what you think they find important?

According to a recent statewide survey, Californians say saving money is not the most important reason for them to become more energy efficient. Last month, the California Public Utilities Commission conducted a poll of 5,000 state residents, accounting for ethnic, gender and county population. Among the findings:

• 86 percent said it is important to find alternative energy sources such as solar and wind
• 84 percent said environmental challenges like climate change are important issues
• 81 percent said they were willing to take an extra step if it means being more environmentally conscious
• 79 percent said they believe California should do more to implement smarter, more efficient energy practices

When it comes to energy, are Americans from Mars and Californians from Venus? - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Originally Posted by ringwise

Secondly, while I'm sure conserving energy is important to most Californians, I think they should be able to decide FOR THEMSELVES how they accomplish the conservation. Instead of the government making that decision for them. Lastly, if conserving energy were truly important, solar panels would probably be on the bottom of the list, since manufacturing them uses far more energy than they save in their use.

Of course they can still decide, having builders include solar panels and employing other energy savings technologies does not preclude the homeowner from making other decisions. If they are opposed to solar (which I seriously doubt) they can simply buy a home that was built before the standards become effective.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

It only applies to single family homes and multi-family dwellings that are no higher than 3 stories.

Ahh, I missed that.