Some Contractors Unhappy About Solar Initiative
June 25, 2008
Bill: New Homes Required To Have Solar Water Heaters
HONOLULU — Hawaii will be the first state in the country to require that all new houses be equipped with solar water heaters.
The governor has spared the mandatory solar water heater bill from her veto list meaning it is on its way to becoming law.
Environmentalists said they are thrilled, but some small solar contractors said the requirement will make them lose money.
More solar roof panels soon will be popping up, joining the estimated 85,000 homes in the state already solar fitted.
Kalihi homeowner Arthur Watrous had solar water heating installed. He is tired of his $350-a-month electricity bills.
"I think it is a good deal if you have a lot of people in the house using hot water," Watrous said. "I might as well let the sun do the work for me."
But Watrous’s solar provider is worried that once solar heaters become mandatory for new homes big-time Mainland contractors will take over most of the business.
"The market will be come smaller for me all of a sudden there are not many of our small business and it will just take it away," Solar Services Hawaii Laurence Ponce said. "We are going to have to be scrimping and scratching for business here and there through existing homes."
Gentry Homes already installs solar water heaters in all its new homes.
Contractors said solar adds $4,000 to $5,000 to each new home’s price, but in the long run it will pay for itself.
Proponents of solar water heaters said they can save you about $1,000 a year on your utility bill.
"It is inevitable. We are going to build green. The entire construction industry — at some point in time — is going to be green. So we may as well accept what is coming our way and embrace it because we are going green," Homeworks Construction Marc Dawson said.
The solar roof requirement takes effect Jan. 1, 2010.
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