Renewable Energy in New Homes

McGraw Hill Construction’s recent survey of a set of NAHB single-family and multifamily members found that a growing number of new homes include renewable energy features — a trend that is apparent in both segments. According to the poll, 12 percent of single-family builders included solar photovoltaic panels in new-home construction last year. While only 1 percent of single-family builders reported using wind power, 26 percent embraced geothermal ground-source heat exchange. The study determined that multifamily housing developers were more likely to use these power production features in at least some of their projects. For instance, 45 percent of such developers used solar panels; while 42 percent installed geothermal property in at least some of their new construction, and 13 percent reported using wind turbines. Still, frequency of use was more common on the single-family side of the market — possibly because of incentives like the section 25D power production tax credit for new homes and resales. More than 50 percent of single-family builders installing solar panels did so on greater than 25 percent of their projects, McGraw Hill reports. Finally, more than 75 percent of single-family builders installing geothermal property do so on more than 25 percent of their homes. | Read More