Clean energy homes cut energy bills and pollution. So why is it so hard to buy one in Nevada? – The Nevada Independent

Final yr I set out  to make my dream of homeownership come true — and to discover a clear vitality dwelling in Nevada.

Clear vitality properties, which pair extremely environment friendly electrical home equipment with rooftop photo voltaic, are shortly changing into staples throughout the US, as homebuyers are lured by the numerous financial, air high quality and local weather advantages. Glenn Kelman, CEO of actual property powerhouse Redfin, lately declared that 2022 could be the yr of the all-electric dwelling, and that our use of fossil fuels for cooking and heating will quickly be a factor of the previous.

So how troublesome may it’s to purchase a clear vitality dwelling in Nevada?

Fairly troublesome, it seems — nearly from the get-go, my realtor and I bumped into challenges. We started by scouring the world for present clear vitality properties, and located only a few in the marketplace. The red-hot actual property market in Southern Nevada additionally implies that many properties are snapped up nearly as quickly as they’re listed.

Feeling discouraged however removed from defeated, we turned to constructing a brand new dwelling from the bottom up, and commenced reaching out to contractors. You would possibly suppose that constructing a house would enable the homebuyer to decide on all electrical home equipment in the event that they’d like. Sadly, that’s typically not the case.

Many dwelling builders throughout Nevada work with a set of three to 4 dwelling designs that potential homebuyers can select from — an comprehensible selection that delivers actual financial advantages for each builders and homebuyers. However a lot to my dismay, most new properties in Nevada don’t provide a clean-energy design choice, regardless that these properties may really be extra reasonably priced to construct and function. 

Constructing with out the costly piping that connects new properties to the fuel system can shave $4,000 to $5,000 off of the price, in response to a brand new examine by the Southwest Vitality Effectivity Undertaking. Newer electrical applied sciences like induction cooktops and warmth pump water heaters and area heaters carry out simply as effectively or higher than their fuel counterparts. And all-electric new properties are cheaper to construct and function within the Southwest, with decrease utility payments resulting in vital long-term financial savings. 

Along with the monetary advantages, a clear vitality dwelling is far more healthy and extra environmentally pleasant. For brand new properties and retrofits in Nevada, utilizing environment friendly electrical warmth pump expertise will lead to 50-60% reductions in greenhouse fuel emissions. Fuel is a robust fossil gas, and when burned indoors it may well create harmful ranges of air air pollution. It’s no surprise that increasingly householders are fascinated by these choices as soon as they find out about them.

Happily, the builder I selected, Lennar, did provide an choice to construct with rooftop photo voltaic and an electrical automobile charging station, exhibiting that rising demand for extra sustainable residing is having an affect on the choices obtainable. Sadly, they don’t provide a gas-free design. That implies that to wind up with a clear vitality dwelling, I’ve to construct with fuel, after which instantly retrofit my model new dwelling to run on clear electrical energy. As an alternative of saving cash, it will add hundreds of {dollars} in extra prices that might have simply been prevented by constructing gas-free from the get-go. 

It shouldn’t be this troublesome to decide on electrical home equipment. Fuel corporations have used aggressive advertising to construct and preserve demand for his or her merchandise, and are actually deceptive individuals concerning the impacts of the fossil gas they promote. They’ve additionally blocked cleaner constructing codes and handed legal guidelines in different states to limit buyer decisions. 

With client curiosity skyrocketing, builders should increase the variety of clear vitality properties in the marketplace. This effort can ship main financial advantages for our state, which is struggling to offer reasonably priced housing. In line with a latest evaluation from Rewiring America, Nevada households would save as much as $342 per yr on their vitality payments by utilizing trendy, electrical home equipment. 

Nevada policymakers have taken motion to make sure our buildings are extra water and vitality sensible, however extra will be completed. Proper now, Clark County, dwelling to roughly 70% of Nevada’s inhabitants, has a key alternative to increase entry to scrub vitality properties by means of its All-In Clark County sustainability planning course of. By setting requirements that be sure that buildings can simply plug into our clear vitality future, Clark County can reduce air pollution, decrease utility payments, and guarantee households will not be saddled with costly retrofits in coming a long time to take away fuel home equipment, as our state charts a path to assembly its local weather targets.

My lengthy journey to homeownership is sort of over — I lately received the keys to my new dwelling and am about to maneuver in. However we’re simply getting began with regards to making clear vitality properties a actuality for extra Nevadans. Homebuyers need to purchase them, and realtors need to promote them. It’s time to deal with this difficulty for the advantage of us all.

Paul Selberg is the manager director of the Nevada Conservation League, a company devoted to advancing pro-conservation and environmentally centered insurance policies.