Should HOA’s allow Solar Panels in Houston
I recently talked with David who works for a company selling Solar Panels in Houston. I thought boy he must be making a fortune, with all the sunshine we have. What homeowner does not want to cut their dreaded electric bill in the summer?
David told me that sells were much better for him in the northeast. That Home Owner Associations in Houston were among the worst his company had dealt with. His company calculated that it took them over a year to convince an HOA to accept the panels in Houston if they were successful.
David thought no zoning had contributed to the strength of the Homeowner Associations here in Houston. That their sole purpose was to maintain the neighborhood in order for Home Owners to make the maximum profit possible when selling their home.
For solar installers, the roadblocks can be frustrating. John Berger, the chief executive of Standard Renewable Energy, a Houston-based firm that designs and installs solar systems for homes, said that the homeowner associations’ prohibitions had already cost him more than $1 million in business.
Lawmakers in Texas are considering a bill that would prevent homeowner associations from banning solar panels, and similar laws are already in place in a dozen or more states, according to the Database of State Initiatives for Renewable Energy — including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and California among others.
This is an issue when concerns all of us. There needs to be some kind of compromise which protects our neighborhoods while allowing homeowners the opportunity to take advantage of energy savings.
Source: Kate Galbraith, New York Times