Florida, Texas, S. California, Arizona, New Mexico, etc...Obama's birth place in the lead!
Sid9
January 1, 2010
Hawaii first in nation to require home solar water heaters
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Staff Writer
Most new homes in Hawai 'i will need to come with a solar water heater under
a law that takes effect today.
The legislation is one of only a handful of new laws that kick in on this
New Year's Day.
Others address everything from naturopathic physicians to court document
process servers and a cell phone ban for Big Island motorists.
But it's the so-called "solar roofs" law that puts Hawai'i on the map, since
no other state mandates that new housing have solar water heaters.
The law is hailed by environmentalists, who say solar heaters are not only
environmentally friendly, they save consumers money. But some in the solar
heating industry still have concerns about the law's efficacy and some
loopholes.
Enacted in 2008 but mandated to begin today, the law says a building permit
cannot be issued for a new single-family structure that does not include a
solar water heater system meeting certain standards.
A homebuilder may, however, apply for a variance through the state
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' energy resources coordinator,
under some circumstances.
Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the nonprofit Blue Planet Foundation,
said that with a solar water heater, the typical homeowner will pay 30
percent to 40 percent less on their electric bills, or about $750 a year,
depending on the number of people in the household and how much water they
use.
For a new house, a system would cost roughly $5,000 to $6,000, so it should
pay for itself within 10 years. "It's just a matter of when," Mikulina said.
Carilyn Shon, the state's energy conservation program manager, pointed out
that petroleum experts are estimating that oil prices will more than double
in the coming two years, providing additional incentive for people to go to
solar water heating.
"The people who are going to install solar water heating as of 2010, or who
already have it, are going to be the beneficiaries," Shon said.
From the environmental standpoint, the law will reduce greenhouse gas
emissions statewide by 8,000 tons annually from avoided electricity use,
according to the Blue Planet Foundation, which aims to make Hawai'i energy
independent.
Gentry Homes began installing solar water heaters on all its new homes in
its Ewa By Gentry development around 2005, according to Mike Brandt, the
company's vice president of engineering.
"It was a big hit with the buyers," Brandt said.
"It's a win-win all around," said Debra Luning, Gentry's director of
governmental and community affairs. Besides being the "green" thing to do,
"the buyer is getting good value for the dollar, and it helps us sell homes
when people see a lot of value included in their homes."
The company has won several homebuilding awards related to being O'ahu's
first developer to go all-solar, Luning said.
But some concerns about the mandate have been raised by those in the solar
heating and building industries.
Ron Richmond, a manager at Inter-Island Solar Supply, said that individual
homebuilders had already begun moving to solar water heating, largely
because of rebates offered by HECO and tax credits by the state.
But those rebates and tax credits go away starting today, Richmond said.
"That cost will be passed on" to homebuyers, said Brandt, of Gentry. "More
and more builders were starting to offer it as a standard feature, so (the
law) ... wasn't necessary."
Gentry, other developers and the Building Industry Association of Hawaii
voiced objections to the bill on those grounds.
Richmond's company is also concerned that there are too many loopholes in
the law that allow a homebuilder to opt out of installing a solar water
system.
The law says exemptions can be allowed if a homebuilder can demonstrate a
home is being built in a "poor solar resource" area, or that a solar water
heater is cost-prohibitive based on a 15-year life cycle cost-benefit
analysis.
A related major concern, which is shared by environmental interests,
including the Blue Planet Foundation, is language in the law that allows
homebuilders to receive a variance if they choose to install a tankless gas
water heater, in combination with another gas appliance.
Richmond said it makes no sense to allow gas water heaters as an option.
"The whole justification for the mandate was to get us off of oil," he said.
"But all of our gas here is made from oil."
Said Mikulina: "Blue Planet believes that gas water heaters should only be
allowed if the homeowner can demonstrate that using solar is not the most
cost-efficient option."
Mark Duda, president of the Hawai'i Solar Energy Association, acknowledged
the mixed feelings his industry has for the new law.
"We're in favor of anything that makes solar more available and more widely
used," Duda said. "But we have an enormous concern with the gas loophole.
There's really nothing in the law that prevents a developer from using gas
if they want to use gas."
Last year, the Legislature attempted to clarify the bill, inserting language
that states that variances "will be rarely, if ever, exercised or granted."
Both industry leaders and environmentalists said they will be monitoring the
situation to ensure there is not a wholesale move by homebuilders toward
tankless gas water heaters.
The DCCA's Hawai'i State Energy Office will begin accepting applications for
variances via its Web site beginning Monday. A link will be provided from
http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/energy .
Sueki Tartridge
Obama's birth place?? You mean the U.N is furnishing solar water
heaters to Obama's Kenyan brother's tin roofed,dirt floored shack that
he shares with goats and chickens?? HOODATHUNKIT !! Sounds mighty
Carteresque to me. Symbolism over substance and intrusion by big
brother. The progressive way.