Solar Homes with SunPower SunTile Selling at Twice the Pace of Standard Homes SAN JOSE, Calif., May 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For eight communities in the Whitney Ranch residential development in Rocklin, Calif., outside Sacramento, an average of 1.9 homes have sold each month since 2006. A ninth community, Grupe Homes' Carsten Crossings, stands out with more than twice as many sales, or an average of 4.6 homes sold per month over the same time period. Four miles down the road in West Roseville's West Park residential development, homes in Lennar Homes' Laureate, Wayfarer and Ironcrest communities are selling almost twice as fast as comparable homes in six neighboring West Park communities. A notable difference in the homes at Carsten Crossings, Laureate, Wayfarer and Ironcrest is the inclusion of a SunPower SunTile(R) solar power system as a standard feature on every home. The SunTile system integrates into the roof construction and features the highest efficiency solar cells available on the commercial market. Both Lennar and Grupe have also incorporated energy-efficient features into these homes, further reducing monthly home energy bills. "Grupe and Lennar's home designs in these communities include the installation of high-performing solar power systems combined with high-quality energy efficiency features," said Bill Kelly, general manager, New Homes Division, for SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ:SPWR) , a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency, commercially available solar cells, solar panels, and solar systems. "This combination of solar technology and energy efficiency results in very low utility costs for the homeowner while improving home comfort. This is a great value for homeowners, and an investment by Grupe and Lennar towards cleaner air and a better environment." "Homebuyers value solar systems today because they can significantly reduce their electric bills and help lower greenhouse gas emissions," said Mark Fischer, senior vice president of The Grupe Company. "Families at Carsten Crossings are achieving an average of $120 per month in savings, and enjoy the satisfaction of generating their own clean, renewable energy." "The SunPower solar power systems are well integrated into our homes' design and look great. They operate simply, requiring no effort by our customers to enjoy the monthly savings," said Jeff Panasiti, president of Lennar Homes' Sacramento division. "As a builder, including roof integrated solar in the homes' construction makes great sense. It should come as no surprise that these homes sell faster." Fischer, Kelly and Bill Dakin, senior engineer at Davis Energy Group, will be presenting more information on this trend this week at PCBC 2007 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Their presentation, "Selling Green to Earn Green" is scheduled from 11 a.m. to noon on Friday, June 1, in Moscone West, Room 3020. SunPower is also participating at PCBC as an exhibitor, hosting Booth #5111 in Moscone's North Hall.
