Solar power to be standard feature in some KB homes

While some home-builders offer solar power as an option, many home-buyers don't immediately recognize the benefits (but do see the added initial cost).  For most people building a home or buying an existing home, adding solar power requires shopping for someone to provide and install the solar hot water or photovoltaic panels, and that added effort dissuades them from making the green choice.  


If the homes on which KB is making solar panels a standard feature sell well, this practice could be the norm in home-building.  Solar power would be just another appliance, like the furnace or dishwasher.


From Business Week:


KB Home said Tuesday it will start offering solar power systems as a standard home feature at 10 of its California developments.
The move is part of an effort to make KB's homes more energy-efficient -- and attractive to buyers -- than sharply discounted foreclosed properties and other previously occupied homes, the company's competition.
KB, which builds homes to order, has provided solar power systems as an option in some developments in California and Colorado for several years. This is the first time photovoltaic systems will be standard for all of KB's homes in a given community.
The systems KB is offering -- of 1.4 kilowatts each -- will generate enough electricity to cut energy costs about 30 percent for a home of 1,800 to 2,000 square feet, the company said. SunPower Corp. is supplying the systems.
Homebuyers can upgrade to a larger solar power system for more money but not opt out of having the standard model installed, the company said.
KB did not say how much the 1.4-kilowatt systems add to the cost of its homes.
The company already offers solar systems in developments in Temecula, Eastvale and Chula Vista, Calif., where houses start at prices from $249,990 to $360,000.
KB plans to open five more developments in Southern California over the next 60 days and two more in the fall.
The Los Angeles-based company, which builds homes in 12 states, said it may expand the initiative to other markets if consumers respond positively.