Sales of solar-powered homes in Calif. up

SACRAMENTO, May 30 (UPI) -- Solar power-equipped homes in several California communities have begun outpacing sales of standard houses.

For eight communities in the Whitney Ranch residential development in Rocklin, Calif., outside Sacramento, an average of 1.9 homes have sold each month since 2006. A ninth community, Grupe Homes' Carsten Crossings, stands out with more than twice as many sales, or an average of 4.6 homes sold per month over the same time period.

Four miles down the road, in West Roseville's West Park residential development, homes in Lennar Homes' Laureate, Wayfarer and Ironcrest communities are selling almost twice as fast as comparable homes in six neighboring West Park communities.

A notable difference in the homes at Carsten Crossings, Laureate, Wayfarer and Ironcrest is the inclusion of SunTile Solar power systems made by SunPower as a standard feature on the hot-ticket homes.

The SunTile system integrates into the roof construction and features solar cells available on the commercial market. Both Lennar and Grupe have also incorporated energy-efficient features into these homes, further reducing monthly home energy bills.

"Homebuyers value solar systems today because they can significantly reduce their electric bills and help lower greenhouse gas emissions," said Mark Fischer, senior vice president of The Grupe Company. "Families at Carsten Crossings are achieving an average of $120 per month in savings, and enjoy the satisfaction of generating their own clean, renewable energy."