In a unique move in the Tucson market, a local home builder is putting solar panels on all the new houses it's selling.
TJ Bednar Homes is the only builder in Tucson installing the panels on rooftops of every house it builds, said Tucson Electric Power Co. spokesman Joe Salkowski.
Other builders give buyers the option of having a solar system installed, and some have put panels on some rooftops, but none has done it with all the homes built, Salkowski said.
There are advantages when a builder starts with plans to put a sun-powered energy system on a home, Salkowski said.
"When you start with the orientation of the house and the roof angle, you really maximize the efficiency," he said.
The houses built by TJ Bednar will have solar panels designed to provide all the residents' power needs, said Brock Qualls, the builder's chief financial officer. Any excess energy produced by the panels will be sold back to the utility, Qualls said.
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A typical home constructed by the builder has a 5.8-kilowatt solar system, he said.
All homes in the two developments the builder is working on will have solar panels, Qualls said.
At Vista Montana Estates - on South Wilmot Road south of Interstate 10 - 834-square-foot homes are priced from $129,900, says the builder's Web site. Larger 1,852-square-foot, three-bedroom homes are priced from $179,900.
At the Lakeside Ridge development on East Stella Road between South Pantano Road and South Sarnoff Drive, homes start in the mid-$150,000s.
The solar-panel system does add to the cost of the house, but incentives from TEP and federal tax rebates make the investment feasible, Qualls said.
"Depending on the size of the house, there is a modest cost difference," he said.
TEP offers an incentive payment of $3,500 per kilowatt for solar panels installed in a TEP Guarantee Home. A Guarantee Home is one built to meet the utility's qualifications for energy efficiency.
TEP's normal incentive for a grid-tied solar system in a house not in the Guarantee Home program is $3,000 per kilowatt.
Considering that the cost of adding a solar system to an existing house, before incentives and tax breaks, can range from $20,000 to $40,000, many who might be interested in the renewable energy are priced out of the market, Qualls said.
Many people in the Southern Arizona are interested in the tax breaks, incentive pay from utilities and advantages of putting on panels during construction, he said.
"When you're building a new house, that's the time to install (solar panels), when it's most effective," Qualls said.
Contact reporter Dale Quinn at 573-4197 or dquinn@azstarnet.com