New energy-conservation mandates for California are projected to save homeowners about $6,200 on energy bills over the life of a typical mortgage, but developers are concerned that required upgrades are too costly and could hamper home sales with little short-term benefit.
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Savings will come from hot water pipe insulation, better windows, whole house fans and other improvements that are projected to make homes and commercial buildings 25 percent to 30 percent more efficient than required by current standards, according to the California Energy Commission.
McMillin Homes president Guy Asaro said the mandates will cost about $3,500 per home in San Diego County — higher than the state average of nearly $2,300. That is “not a good investment” for homeowners, he said, because it could take nearly two decades to recoup those costs.
The Energy Commission’s latest conservation standards approved Thursday in Sacramento take effect in 2014, another step in a decades-long pursuit of efficiency. Changes to the initial 1978 standards are moving toward “zero net energy” buildings that can generate all the power they need with rooftop solar panels and the like.
“Over time, we really get to this idea of buildings that do what we want without having the unwanted side effects,” said Douglas Kot, executive director of the San Diego Green Building Council.
Nationwide, buildings account for about one-third of total energy use.
The latest changes to the state’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards were adopted during the regular three-year cycle of updates that has made California a national leader in driving down the amount of energy consumed per capita. New mandates stop short of requiring solar panels but say new commercial and residential buildings must be designed to support sun-based energy systems.
“Increasing building standards is one of the more cost-effective ways to move to a more sustainable energy future,” said Peter Hamilton, managing director of the California Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego.
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