Residential & Multifamily / California
Solar for Single-Family Developments
California has required solar on new single-family homes since January 1, 2020. For a production builder, that means the solar program is part of the product: it affects roof design, plan-type electrical layouts, purchasing, scheduling, and the buyer's closing documents. A builder with a well-designed program barely notices it. A builder without one sees it at every final inspection.
Eventure's Role
Eventure designs plan-type solar systems for homebuilders and coordinates them with the roofing, electrical, and framing trades so homes close on schedule.
We bring solar into the project at schematic design, size the Energy Code requirement, coordinate the roof, structure, electrical rooms, and battery location with your architect and engineers, and carry the system through permitting, utility interconnection, inspection, commissioning, and closeout.
Title 24 treatment
Newly constructed single-family homes must include a PV system sized under the residential provisions of the California Energy Code, with the size determined by conditioned floor area and climate zone. Exceptions exist where solar-accessible roof area is limited or the required system is very small, and a qualifying battery can reduce the required PV size.
Design Considerations
What is different about single-family developments.
- Roof planes drive everythingThe required system is sized by conditioned floor area and climate zone, then fitted to the roof. Plans with usable south- and west-facing planes free of vents and equipment carry smaller, cleaner arrays. We review elevations during design to protect the solar zone.
- Electrical rough-in standardsConduit from the roof to the service panel, panel capacity, a dedicated location for the inverter, and breaker space for the system should be in the standard electrical plan for every home.
- Battery credit and all-electric homesA qualifying battery can reduce the required PV size and support all-electric designs that are now the baseline under the 2025 code. Builders should decide how storage fits the product line rather than treating it home by home.
- Closing sequenceFinal inspection, utility permission to operate, and buyer documentation all have to line up with closings. We sequence installations by phase and file interconnections in advance.
Keep Solar Off the Critical Path
Don't let solar be the last thing standing between your project and its Certificate of Occupancy.
On single-family developments projects, as on every California building, the Energy Code requirement, the fire authority's review of the battery, the utility's interconnection timeline, and the building's final inspection all depend on the solar scope being designed, permitted, installed, and documented in sequence. We treat it as a scheduled trade from day one.
Solar and the Certificate of Occupancy
Questions
Single-Family Developments solar, answered.
Is solar required on every new single-family home in California?
With limited exceptions, yes. The requirement took effect under the 2019 Energy Code on January 1, 2020 and continues under the 2022 and 2025 codes. Exceptions address homes with very limited solar-accessible roof area and certain shading conditions.
Who handles the utility paperwork for each home?
We do. Interconnection applications and permission-to-operate requests are filed per home and tracked against the builder's closing schedule.
Related
More residential & multifamily building types.
All residential & multifamily · All building types · Where we work
Discuss Your Project
Planning single-family developments in California?
Send us the drawings at any stage. We will size the Title 24 requirement, review the roof and electrical approach, and map the path to a Certificate of Occupancy that does not wait on solar.