“Solar Panel” Says it All

Solar panels are added not long before move-in.

News Flash: Worst Downturn in Housing Market in Decades! Mortgage Crisis Forces Glut of Foreclosures! Too Many Homes For Sale – Nothing Selling! Fresno Cohousing Prices Locked in at Above-Market Rates! Fresno (CA) Cohousing Membership Votes to Increase Prices by $10K!
What’s wrong with this picture? Or, perhaps more significantly, what’s right with it?

The members of LaQuerencia (a.k.a. Fresno Cohousing) decided by consensus in February to install solar panels – photovoltaic arrays – on the roofs of all of the residential buildings and the common house, which would result in an increase in the sales price of each home by $10,080. This was done even though the community was not sold out and move-in for the first residential building was scheduled for August of this year.

The future residents are continuing to build community within their membership, overseeing the final stages of construction of the actual buildings and marketing both the remaining homes and an increased awareness of the cohousing concept. But the cohousing idea itself remains a hard sell in what might arguably be the most conservative area where cohousing has ever been attempted. Why the sudden decision to raise prices?

It’s simple. It’s almost a no-brainer. It goes something like this:

The Scene

A curious potential buyer asks of the cohouser staffing an info table at a health fair: “Greenest Neighborhood in Fresno? So, there’ll be solar, right?” The cohouser begins to answer: “Well, you see, we know that all those developers out there are claiming they’re building ‘green,’ but all they’re really doing is slapping some solar panels on the roofs and otherwise doing what's required by code anyway. We’re going way beyond that by starting off deciding to create really energy-efficient homes using the most sustainable products and building techniques we can manage. Take a look at this (holds up flyer showing green-building features). This is the guts of what makes the buildings really green. It’s the ‘non-sexy’ stuff that’s inside the walls that nobody thinks about. It’s what the other builders aren’t doing.” Potential buyer glances at the flyer (see box below), shrugs and moves on to next booth as he coughs asthmatically in Fresno's notoriously smoggy air.

While we soon-to-be residents of La Querencia were definitely looking for neighborliness and old-fashioned community, we also realize that in this time of deepening climate crisis we need to “think globally and act locally.” That’s what we’ve chosen to do. Each home’s array will produce 1.5 kW of electricity in bright sunlight, and the common house array will produce 2 kW, resulting in an annual electric energy production that should achieve “net zero” for some of the homes. (A net zero home creates enough energy to offset the other forms of energy it uses. See previous article.)

One-Time Opportunity

The timing of the decision was also critical. At that point in the construction, we would be installing the solar arrays for a much lower cost than would have been possible later on. The arrays were being offered at a discounted price, and our general contractor (Byldan Construction, known for its commitment to building green) had agreed to install them at cost. This opportunity would never come again.

Although installation will increase costs, each resident will receive a rebate of $3,149 from the State of California after move-in, and it is anticipated that there will be a one-time federal tax credit as well. Every sunny day – and Fresno has plenty – will bring cost savings that will more than offset the slight bump in monthly mortgage payments resulting from this decision.

The homes’ deep porches and window shading are two visible green practices. Dozens of other green features are unseen.

The Savings

Before reaching consensus to “go solar,” our community had already decided to use the full range of sustainable techniques for which our designers (McCamant and Durrett Architects) are known. Based on experience with similar cohousing communities, it was estimated that “pre-solar” energy bills at La Querencia would have been as low as $50 a month. The addition of solar PV panels will lower that estimate even further, and La Querencia’s 44kW of solar will reduce CO2 emissions by 33.5 tons a year, or the equivalent of 10 acres of trees, a critically important factor in our decision. We’ll be feeding energy into the western electric grid, helping others – and ourselves – by channeling the energy of the sun.

We’re pleased and proud to contribute this way, and now it’s even truer than ever: “Fresno Cohousing – The Greenest Neighborhood in Fresno and the Central Valley.”