With many of us spending more time at home these days, it is important to think about the future of the home here in California. How can we make our homes more affordable and sustainable? How can we build new and remodeled single-family, multi-family, and mixed-use housing to meet new energy saving building codes, but also remain affordable for our state’s low-income residents? How can innovative energy technologies support this vision?
Affordable and quality housing in California remains in short supply, and existing housing stock is among the most expensive in the country with the average median purchase price of a home at more than $700,000 as of November 2020. In 2019, average rent was $1,614/month.[1] 47 percent of Californians— including 61 percent of renters—say housing costs are a financial strain on themselves and their families.[2]
Household energy use accounts for about 21% of total U.S. energy consumption and low-income households spend a larger portion of their income on energy bills.[3] California residents’ average annual energy costs (electricity and natural gas) are more than $1,500/year.[4] Minorities are disproportionately affected by shortages in high quality, affordable, and energy efficient housing. However, low vacancy rates, rising prices, and low interest rates are boosting housing starts, which have the potential to help alleviate housing shortages if developer interests can be guided by appropriate standards.[5]
California’s new green building energy standards (Title 24) require new energy efficiency standards for new construction and large retrofits.[6] In 2019, California was ranked No. 2 nationally in aggressive building energy efficiency standards.[7] Many of California’s communities are striving to build even more energy efficient housing and also to integrate renewable energy, electric vehicle charging, and battery storage backup. The future of solar in the Golden State is looking brighter than ever thanks to the new, first-of-its-kind California solar home mandate, a recent code that requires new homes to be built with a solar electricity system.[8]
However, dollar savings on energy alone often will not justify the current cost of reaching zero net energy or achieving high levels of efficiency in existing buildings. The cost of energy-efficient construction and renovation must drop much further and the value of having a highly-efficient building must be reliably documented.[9] In the meantime, the market must still rely on incentive programs and funding support.
The California Energy Commission (CEC) and the U.S Department of Energy (DOE) have policies and funding to develop building technologies that go well beyond Title 24 that will set the foundation for future building code improvements For example, the CEC has several proposed initiatives that are outgrowths of the Commission’s current projects including investing in pre-fabricated, small homes and demonstrating connecting electric vehicles to home solar resources using backup storage. The DOE’s residential building programs include upcoming research and development and demonstration grants. For startups working in the building space, the DOE’s American Made Challenge recently launched E-ROBOT, a $5 million dollar prize, to fund robots that can make building renovation less costly and safer.
More Resources
California Housing Partnership: Closing the California Clean Energy Divide: Reducing Electric Bills in Affordable Multifamily Rental Housing with Solar+Storage
California Housing Partnership: AFFORDABLE HOMES FIRST: Advancing a Green New Deal for Los Angeles Renters
California Housing Partnership: Mutual Housing California Achieves Zero Net Energy in Woodland | GREEN Case Study
Natural Resources Defense Council: Heat Pump Retrofit Strategies for Multifamily Buildings
Green and Healthy Homes Initiative: Achieving Health and Social Equity through Housing: Understanding the Impact of Non-Energy Benefits in the United States
Novogradac & Company LLP: Affordable Housing Developers Get New Tool to Finance Solar Arrays in California
NRDC and the National Housing Trust: Seizing the Moment: Incorporating Efficiency, Health, and Renewables Upgrades into Affordable Housing Financing Events
Thomas Jensen, Co-Founder, Entrepreneur Futures. Tom is co-director of the Empower Innovation Network and has 25 years of experience working on sustainable technology and sustainable communities. He is a contributing author of Sustainable Communities (Springer Press), the primary author of the California Local Government Strategic Energy Action Report (California Public Utilities Commission), and author of Guide to California Land Use Planning and Zoning Laws (Solano Press Books).
--------------------------------------
[2] Public Policy Institute of California.
[4] California Energy Commission.
[5] Public Policy Institute of California.
[9] California Energy Commission.
Sign Up 
