County Adds Green to Building Code
New homes built in unincorporated San Diego County will soon be “greener” — or at least, prepared to be greener — after the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved changes to the County building code Wednesday.
The Board voted 4-1 to approve four changes related to solar power and electric vehicles to the code that will require all new homes to:
- Be built with 200-amp electric panels — large enough to allow future electrical additions.
- Have electrical conduit built into homes that would allow homeowners to put in wiring for rooftop solar electricity-generating panels.
- Have electrical conduit installed that would allow homeowners to add wiring for electrical car charging stations if desired.
- Be built with space reserved on south-facing rooftops that would allow homeowners to install solar photovoltaic panels.
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Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Dave Roberts, who successfully lobbied the rest of the Board in April to have staff look for cost-effective green improvements for the building code, praised the additions Wednesday. They said the changes would give homeowners built-in power “flexibility” and add value to homes by adding features inexpensively during construction that would cost much more to add afterwards. Board Chairman Bill Horn voted against adding the changes, saying it was not the County’s role to tell builders what to put in homes to make them more attractive.
If the building code ordinance changes are approved again by the Board in a second reading, they are expected to go into effect July 1.