Shea Homes offers free solar power to Victoria Gardens homebuyers

Victoria Gardens by Shea Homes will offer free solar power systems to its homebuyers through August 31. Shea Homes is the first builder to roll out a national solar offering and has chosen to work with BP Solar, a global leader in solar energy.

The initiative is part of the builder's ongoing commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of homes in all of its Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities across four states.

The BP Solar Home Solutions systems are estimated to reduce the homes' electric bills by up to 60 percent per home. This is in addition to the approximately 30 percent energy usage reduction Victoria Gardens by Shea Homes residences already achieve with the Shea Green Certified standards for home building.

Each home will be equipped with a 3-kilowatt solar power system, which helps provide security against electric rate increases, allowing consumers to hedge their future risks in the volatile energy markets.

"By providing our buyers with free solar energy systems, we're taking efficient energy use a step further by actually creating energy," said Jeff Gersh, Area Vice President of Victoria Gardens, which features Shea Homes residences. "This provides both short-term and long-term benefits for our customers in the form of significant cost savings, and it also makes a positive impact on the environment."

"With the addition of solar in a home, we're no longer just efficient users of electricity, we become producers. Integrating a solar system into a home during construction makes it more accessible and affordable than it's ever been. Victoria Gardens' homes pass the true test of a 'green' home by integrating a mix of energy-saving and energy-generating devices that deliver immediate and long-term benefits for our customer."

Solar systems will be free through August 31 to new homebuyers in Shea Active Lifestyle Communities in Arizona, California, Washington and Florida, including Deland's Victoria Gardens. After August 31, the systems will be available as an upgrade option. Homeowners will be able to track how much power their system is producing, along with its environmental benefits, via a Web-based remote monitoring system.

"Creative business partnerships are helping to transform the American residential marketplace with homes that combine energy efficiency with solar power," said DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander A. Karsner.

"These homes will help transform the built environment into healthier, more prosperous and sustainable communities that reduce our carbon footprint, enhance our energy security and contribute to the fabric of a cleaner, more efficient America."
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Sound like a good deal to me. Hoping to see this become a trend in homebuying.