As we enter spring 2021, we’re looking to the future; It’s taken a while to get here, but solar is increasingly becoming a popular option to power the great fabled “Home of the Future.” Will our properties be powered solely by green energy in the future? Or is this just another flash in the pan?
Green is in
Green concerns have never been more relevant, particularly amongst millennials. As a result, clean energy and green initiatives are becoming more commonplace and the worlds of business, construction and more all have green targets to meet. Building developers should be putting sustainability at the top of their agenda if they hope to remain relevant and produce the kind of housing that’s going to still be sellable 20 years from now.
The future is bright
Solar energy is very likely to power the homes of the future. Other technologies such as wind power and hydropower are too unpredictable and are difficult to set up at a residential level. Solar, meanwhile, is essentially mainstream at this point. There are always new technologies being developed for the use of solar power in homes. Consider the solar tracking systems known as servo gear motors. These motors adjust the angle of solar panels throughout the day and hence each panel continues to face the sun which results in harnessing maximum energy from sunup to sundown.
Everything’s connected
We are only a few short years away from the point where we reach something of a technological convergence point. Imagine being able to store your electric car and use it to power your home when it’s not in use. And imagine being able to control every facet of your homes electrical ecosystem from your smartphone thanks to IoT technology. This reality is already within spitting distance.
The COVID-19 factor
The housing market remains surprisingly resilient even in the face of the pandemic. But what people are looking for in their homes has changed. All those months of reflection have inspired more people than ever before to live more sustainably. In a post-pandemic world, people are going to start thinking more about what they are doing to help the global eco-crisis at a fundamental level – from their own homes. That’s something that all smart developers should be taking note of.
It’s surprisingly affordable, you know!
There are around 2 million homes in the US right now (mostly in California where all new homes must include them by law) with solar panels installed and there are a million more planned to be added every year for the foreseeable future. That means there will be double the amount of solar panels currently installed on the country’s homes in just two years. That’s not only because of the government initiatives that incentivise solar but because it’s so much more affordable now than it ever was. And we all know that once something is affordable it suddenly becomes more attractive.
