Most advanced new home construction programs like R2000 and EnerGuide for Homes focus on energy efficiency and conservation – this is the first and a critically important step towards energy security of new homes. The next step is to replace fossil fuels or power by on-site clean energy generation thus reducing energy costs. Now home buyers are considering how their homes can generate energy allowing them to become energy self sufficient and secure.

Solar energy - the most abundant energy resource available – plays a critical role in addressing home energy needs. A Solar Energy system can reduce the amount of fuel/electricity purchased to heat and power a home, save on average 50% of water heating costs annually, hedge future energy costs, provide clean, reliable and affordable heat and power, and finally, ensure home’s energy security.

Solar energy technologies– especially for water heating and power generation – are being widely used in many countries. Yet adoption of solar energy generation in North America is lagging behind technology development. There is a significant gap between increasingly efficient solar technology and its broad acceptance as a viable energy source.

Green Power Labs recognizes this gap needs to be filled with comprehensive and reliable data - data that clearly confirms the solar potential and the corresponding energy gain at each site where installation of solar technology is being considered. Green Power Labs understands buyers want confirmation of the return on investment in solar technology and its positive environmental impact.

Green Power Labs’ TruSolarShare Assessment and SolarStar Rating services give buyers this confirmation. These services evaluate availability of solar energy resources and their development potential which together define feasibility of solar applications at a particular location. SolarStar Rating is designed for home builders; TruSolarShare Assessment is designed for home buyers.

SolarStar Rating: Setting a Standard for Solar Communities



Green Power Labs’ SolarStar Rating service is designed to advance the development of solar buildings/houses, streets and communities, and to promote the design of houses and buildings highly suitable for solar energy generation and savings in energy consumption.

SolarStar rates a home’s potential to become energy self sufficient. Each site – whether already built or in the design stage – is SolarStar rated based on solar climatology data and site specific factors. Each site receives a rating between one and five SolarStars.

SolarStar Rating defines potential solar energy gain on the roof and wall segments of individual houses/buildings as a fraction of the maximum solar gain available. Providing a simple and clear grade of solar energy potential for every house in the community, and an added value to developers, real estate agents and home and business owners, SolarStar Rating sets a standard for sustainable community development.

By rating each home’s suitability for solar energy generation, property developers can provide long term value – lower maintenance costs to live in the home, and higher resale values when families move to their next location.

SolarStar Rating is about sensible planning to secure current and future energy needs. And it’s about wise investment of private and public dollars in building Solar Streets, Communities and Cities. Building a Solar Street– a street where most homes are highly suitable to solar energy generation – will prepare home buyers to become energy self sufficient.