每日英語跟讀 Ep.K225: California’s Plan to Make New Buildings Greener Will Also Raise Costs

California has led the nation in fighting climate change by encouraging the use of renewable energy and electric cars. Now the state is taking on an even harder challenge — reducing emissions from homes, businesses and other buildings that have to be heated, cooled and powered.

加州藉由鼓勵使用再生能源和電動車，成為美國對抗氣候變遷的領導者。如今加州挑戰更大的目標：使必須加熱、冷卻和供電的住宅、商店等建物減少溫室氣體排放量。

Last month, state regulators updated California’s building code to require new homes and commercial buildings to have solar panels and batteries and the wiring needed to switch from heaters that burn natural gas to heat pumps that run on electricity. Energy experts say it is one of the most sweeping single environmental updates to building codes ever attempted by a government agency.

加州立法機構上月更新建築法規，要求新住宅和商業大樓安裝太陽能板和電池，而且電路布線必須從燃燒天然氣的加熱器改為用電的熱泵。能源專家說，這是政府機關對建築法規最大刀闊斧的環保變革之一。

But some energy and building experts warn that California may be taking on too much, too quickly and focusing on the wrong target — new buildings, rather than the much larger universe of existing structures. Their biggest fear is that these new requirements will drive up the state’s already high construction costs, putting new homes out of reach of middle- and lower-income families that cannot as easily afford the higher upfront costs of cleaner energy and heating equipment, which typically pays for itself over years through savings on monthly utility bills.

不過，一些能源和建築專家警告，加州可能野心太大、過於急切，而且鎖定新建物而非數目多得多的既有建物，也是找錯目標。他們最擔心的是，這些新要求會把加州已經很高的建築成本推得更高，使中低收入戶買不起新屋，他們難以負擔潔淨能源和加熱設備較高的前期成本，雖然這些成本通常能透過每月節省電費而在幾年後抵銷。

The median single-family home in California sells for more than $800,000 compared to about $360,000 nationwide, and businesses pay more for rent in cities like San Francisco and San Jose than anywhere else in the country. A big reason costs are higher in California is that the state is not building enough homes, something lawmakers tried to address this past week by advancing legislation that would allow more than one home on each parcel of land.

加州單戶住宅售價中位數為80多萬美元，全美則約36萬美元，而且舊金山、聖荷西等城市的商業租金比美國其他地方都貴。加州房價高的一大原因是房屋建量不足，州議員過去一周企圖透過推動立法，允許每個單位土地蓋不只一間房子，來解決這個問題。

Adding solar panels and a battery to a new home can raise its cost by $20,000 or more. While that might not matter to somebody buying a million-dollar property, it could be a burden on a family borrowing a few hundred thousand dollars to buy a home.

新屋加裝太陽能板和電池，價格會提高2萬美元甚至更多。對買得起百萬美元房產的人來說，這可能不算什麼，但對貸款數十萬美元買房的家庭，則會構成負擔。

“You’re going to see the impact in office rents. You’re going to see it in the cost of the milk in your grocery store,” said Donald J. Ruthroff, a principal at Dahlin Group Architecture Planning in Pleasanton, California. “There’s no question this is going to impact prices across the board.”

加州普萊森頓市道林建築設計公司總監魯斯羅夫表示：「你會看到這對辦公室租金的影響。你會在食品雜貨店牛奶價格上看到它所造成的衝擊。這勢必會波及到各類商品的價格。」Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/5754437