Figuring out how to introduce solar panel systems into households across America has been a long-discussed topic. A lot of my friends still don’t know that last year in the middle of 2018, the California Energy Commission voted unanimously 5-0 to require all new homes built in California after Jan 1, 2020 to have solar panels.

A Good Beginning

Currently, only about 15-20 percent of California households have solar panels already installed. If all goes well, and it should, California has the rare chance of becoming the first state to introduce such green energy standards. And, hopefully other states are encouraged to follow.

The proposed legislation will include various rules, including a “net-zero” home policy. By doing this, a balanced use of solar power will be gradually introduced into the housing market with the added benefit of having the cost of installation amortized into the price of the home while lowering monthly energy bills.

This initiative has been welcomed by many household owners and environment experts, but at the same time, some believe the “net-zero” policy will not hold.

Electric Homes

Aside from the solar panels legislation, I hear that the State of California will also try to focus on another major concern: electrification of homes. This includes replacing devices that use natural gas with their electric equivalents.

Why electrification? One of the reasons I learned is that natural gas leakage is a big concern for two reasons. One, gas leakage can pose a safety concern as natural gas is both toxic and explosive at concentrated levels. Two, natural gas is more than 10x worse than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. The pipes that delivery natural gas to your house all have some leakage even when buried.

Pros and Cons

As with any new legislation, there is two sides to this coin. Most Californians I talk to consider it a net positive both for individual and for society.

For the typical Californian, if you choose to buy a new home, though it may be more expensive, the cost will be built into the mortgage. It’s equivalent to getting financing for a solar installment along with the purchase of the home. For those who do get solar panels, they will more than likely see lower energy bills throughout the lifetime of the home.

For the homebuilders, most see it as extra business, i.e. an extra home feature they can build and make a little more money on. Some have argued that the higher cost of new homes may affect the housing market, but many economists dismiss this concern since the additional cost of solar panels is relatively small compared to the price of new housing units in California.

Of course, everyone agrees that installing solar panels in a sunny state like California will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.