Solar, So Good

HOME BUYERS AT THREE LENNAR NEIGHBORhoods in Northern California will be surprised to learn that their new house will come with a mini power plant. The Sacramento division of the national builder is offering a solar power system on all its houses as a standard feature.

"We believe in the solar

located in the city of Roseville (northeast of Sacramento), the communities of Wayfarer and Laureate at WestPark and Ironcrest at Fiddyment Farm will offer homes with a standard 2.4kilowatt system as part of the builder's SOLARplus program.

In addition to the solar installation, the homes also will feature a variety of energy-saving upgrades, such as beefedup insulation, highly insulated windows, efficient HVAC systems, Energy Star appliances, and radiant barrier sheathing installed on every roof to help cut down on heat gain. With all the features, "homcowners should see a 40 percent to 60 percent reduction in electric usage per year," Panasiti explains.

The 300 homes in the solar program will vary in size from 2,213 to 4,720 square feet and will range in price from the low $4008 to the mid Sooos. Lennar is launching the solar program with the local utility company, Roseville Electric and PowerLight Corp., a Berkeley, Calif.-based provider of large-scale solar power systems.