There are some places that seem to be in the future – or they make us feel like we’re stuck in the past. Examples such as those of India or Australia make our initiatives seem rather incipient. This is the case of California, where all homes built from 2020 will obliged to have solar panels.

The decision was unanimously approved by the US State Building Standards Commission, which wants to make California homes more environmentally friendly. All new homes there will have to be at least partially solar powered in two years’ time.

Photo: American Public Power Association / Unsplash

Thicker thermal insulation, more efficient doors and more modern ventilation systems are also in the package to reduce the environmental impact of buildings.

Some Californian cities have argued against the decision, based on the high costs for the installation of the capture panels. The government has remained irreducible, but it prepares a state panel loan plan and a project so that houses that produce more energy than they consume can sell the surplus to the others.

Gabriela Glette