By Rural Builder Staff
With the turning of the calendar page to 2020 comes the enactment of the California Building Code requirement that all new-construction California homes of three stories or less will need to include a solar energy system.
Recent building statistics estimate solar energy systems were included on approximately 15,000 new California homes each year. California averages 75,000-80,000 new homes built per year. The implications have builders and home buyers concerned; buyers face significantly increased home prices (although they can expect incremental savings over the lifetime of the home) and builders — stuck in the middle — face supply shortages as the demand for solar energy systems swells to more than five times the previous demand for new installs.
Time will tell what the overall impact will be on the California housing market.