Shiny blue tiles being fitted on the roofs of new homes going up in Compton are not only expected to slash homeowners' utility bills, but they also represent a renewed effort to address America's insatiable demand for power through the use of solar technology.
The photovoltaic roof tiles are expected to generate up to 70% of the power used by residents of a dozen homes in Central Park Estates--an affordable housing development under construction at a site near West Stockwell Street and Central Avenue. Photovoltaic cells convert sunlight directly into electricity.
At Central Park Estates, the photovoltaic tiles cover only a portion of each home's roof, or about 250 square feet. The tiles will be wired into Southern California Edison's power grid, instead of storing energy in batteries at the home.
During the day, the tiles will typically generate more electricity than a home uses, prompting the homeowners' electrical meter to spin backward and create a credit on their utility bill. At night, the power grid will supply the homes, because the tiles need sunlight to generate electricity.
"I'm confident that this is going to be a major technology of the future," said Ranji George, a program supervisor in the technology advancement office of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The AQMD helped finance the installation of the tiles on the Central Park Estates homes, which are being developed by Nehemiah West Housing Corp., a nonprofit consortium of churches and residents.
Meanwhile, the photovoltaic portion of the project is being coordinated by Thousand Oaks-based California Solar.
Photovoltaic panels are also scheduled to be installed on roughly 180 homes at the Village Green project, wich is rising across the street from a Metrolink station in the northeast San Fernando Valley. The project will straddle San Fernando and Sylmar.
"It's the largest photovoltaic subdivision in Southern California, if not all of California," said Jeff Lee, president of the Marina del Rey-based Lee Group, which is developing Village Green through a joint partnership with the Agoura Hills-based Braemar Group.
*
The technology is doing more than promising to reduce electricity bills, it's also helping buyers qualify for mortgages. Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of home mortgages, has created special mortgage products that will take into consideration the money that Village Green homeowners will save on their transportation (by being close to Metrolink) and energy bills, and will use those savings to underwrite their mortgages.
