“Solar Heating and Cooling will be used for supplementary energy in the new-building market, particularly multiple-family dwellings. Life-cycle costs will become comparable with fossil fuels in the 1985 time period, and it is expected that 20% of all new buildings in the year 2000 will be equipped with supplementary solar power systems.”
— American Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics, SOLAR ENERGY FOR EARTH: an AIAA Assessment
It’s hard to know exactly how many homes have incorporated passive solar features, but my guess is that it’s more like two percent or 0.2 percent (or…).
That said, if someone has good numbers on solar heating and cooling installations, I’d love to see them.
The spec building boom that contributed to the real estate collapse and subsequent financial crisis sure didn’t do any favors for solar development. Why put something into a house that’s going to take several years to pay you back? You’re going to flip it anyhow, right? Ah… The dreams of 2006.
[...] Energy of Tomorrow…and more Peak Oil, 1925. In 2000, 20% of new buildings will be solar equipped. By the late 1990s, 90% of the world’s energy will be nuclear-generated. These and other [...]
Israel is a country of flat roofs and reliable sunshine. The urban skyline doesn’t look pretty with just about every building sporting its own solar panels and a hot water cylinder, but it’s a crime not to use the power of the Sun, a wonderful sustainable and renewable resource.