SAN JOSE, Calif. – SunPower Corp., and Woodside Homes, has announced that Woodside Homes is now offering SunPower solar and SunVault battery storage systems to owners and buyers in all its Northern California communities. As grid shortages and planned blackouts continue to impact Northern California residents, the companies are responding to soaring demand for more sustainable and reliable energy. SunPower is Woodside Homes’ exclusive solar and storage partner in the region.
Demand for home energy storage is soaring across the U.S.; the residential market installed 110.2 MW of storage capacity in Q1 2021 according to the latest Wood Mackenzie report. This trend is evident in the new homes market, with nearly 1 in 3 Woodside Homes customers now requesting to add energy storage to their home.
To answer this strong demand, Woodside Homes announced that it will make SunVault a standard feature in every home in its newest subdivision coming soon to Placer County, Calif. All 128 homes in Brady Vineyards will come with rooftop solar and a 13 kWh SunVault storage system installed as a standard feature. SunVault will be designed to provide power during grid outages to essential loads, including lighting, plug loads and kitchen appliances. Homeowners can see additional electricity bill savings by using their stored energy during peak times when utility rates are the highest or selling excess energy back to the grid. New homes at Brady Vineyards are expected to start selling in the spring of 2022.
“Woodside Homes has long been at the forefront of home energy innovation, incorporating solar electric generation into its building plans for cleaner and more affordable power for more than a decade,” said Matt Brost, Senior Director of New Homes sales for SunPower. “Now they are giving home buyers even more freedom and control with the ability to power their homes sustainably and keep their lights on even when the grid goes down.”
Woodside Homes has provided more than 4,000 families homes powered by SunPower over the last 14 years, a testament to their commitment to homes that cost less to operate while having a positive impact on the environment. Today, Woodside Homes carefully designs each home’s solar electric system to replace the majority of utility-supplied electricity, providing the greatest possible benefit to future homeowners.
“It’s clear that home buyers are looking for resiliency, affordability and peace of mind when it comes to powering their homes, and we are making it easier than ever for them to achieve that with the inclusion of our Conscious Comfort solutions, which provides cleaner interior air, energy savings and advanced insulation systems,” said Brian Cutting, Division President at Woodside Homes. “SunPower shares our commitment to providing the best quality and service to homeowners, and we look forward to expanding our work together as our customer needs evolve over time.”
Solar-equipped Woodside Homes are fitted with SunPower Equinox® systems, which generate more power in less space with fewer visible parts than traditional solar electric systems. SunVault batteries are made with lithium iron phosphate chemistry, which is designed to be safer and more resilient to heat and oxygen exposure than typical lithium-ion batteries.
SunPower is at the forefront of new home energy solutions and compliance, working with 17 of the top 20 builders in California. The company plans to continue to add SunVault to new home communities throughout 2021 and is seeing strong storage bookings across all its segments including new homes, exiting Q2 2021.
