The California Building Standards Commission has voted to add the latest energy standards approved in May 2018 by the California Energy Commission requiring homes built in 2020 and later to be solar powered. The new standards will require all new homes under three stories high to set up rooftop solar panels designed to net out the annual electricity usage of the dwelling. The regulation includes both single-family homes as well as multi-family residential buildings.
Besides, the new standard also incentivises what is labelled as "demand responsive technologies" such as heat pump water heaters and battery storage. The vote also paves the way for combined solar and energy storage in new homes by providing a storage option if the future homeowner chooses it.
The revised building code is meant to cut energy use in California's new homes by more than half and could save California residents a significant portion of their energy costs.