B.C. Develops Solar Water Heating Program

Nickle's Energy Evolution
30-Jan-2006

It may rain a lot in British Columbia -- just ask Lower Mainland residents who recently endured about 30 days straight of rain -- but that hasn’t stopped the BC Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA) from developing Canada’s most ambitious program for solar water heating.

Nitya Harris, project leader of BCSEA’s Solar Hot Water Program, which is increasing awareness of solar’s potential in providing hot water, providing training to solar system installers, and providing financial incentives for installation, says the program, complemented by the Solar Hot Water Acceleration Project, is sparking a great deal of interest across the province.

“We’ve decided to take on the challenge of introducing solar hot water technology on a province-wide basis and so far a number of communities have expressed an interest,” says Harris.

BCSEA received a recent “Solar Advocate of the Year” award for 2005 for its solar hot water project from the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA), along with the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA), which received the award for its lobbying efforts to get the Ontario government to approve small solar power systems to have an assured role in providing green power to the provincial grid.

Harris says domestic hot water use constitutes 30% of an average homeowner’s total energy consumption, with that rising to as much as 80% if they use radiant hot water heating.

“That means, if they use solar power for radiant hot water, as well as for their domestic hot water needs, they could provide virtually all of their home energy needs with solar energy,” she says.

BCSEA has received strong support for its hot water acceleration project from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and from the provincial Department of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, with NRCan offering a grant of $700 and the provincial department $200 for every installed solar hot water system. It costs about $5,000 to install a system in the average house.

“Based on average domestic water use, the system is paid for in about five-and-a-half years,” Harris says.

She says low power prices in most parts of Canada -- with B.C. having some of Canada’s lowest electricity rates -- makes it difficult to formulate an economic case for photovoltaic solar systems, which provide a home’s power. The systems cost about $11,000 and up to install.

But solar water heating systems can make economic sense, especially if radiant hot water heating is included.

In addition, by first installing a solar hot water system the costs of installing a photovoltaic system in the future come down.

Harris says solar hot water systems can produce a return on investment of 10-15% a year, especially with the federal and provincial subsidies included.

Her group is also working with NRCan to convince owners of commercial and institutional buildings and large residential buildings to install solar heating systems. Under NRCan’s Renewable Energy Deployment Initiative (REDI), there’s a 25% rebate offered for installing such systems.

Its major initiative is a pilot project, in co-operation with NRCan and OSEA, to get homeowners to install solar hot water systems. OSEA is targeting Perth and Kingston Ontario, while NRCan is also working with local groups in Bathurst, New Brunswick.

In B.C., Harris and BCSEA are working with officials in the northeastern B.C. community of Dawson Creek, where she says there has been strong support.

“They are an oil and gas development community but they also see the benefits of getting involved in renewable energy,” she says.

“We had a meeting there in September to kick-off the program and we packed the room.”

The demand for the solar heating systems is so strong in the community there aren’t enough installers locally to put in the systems.

That has led to discussions with the Northern Lights College to have them start offering a program aimed at training solar system technicians.

Harris says the city administration in Dawson Creek is so supportive of the program they are getting involved in the REDI program to install solar systems in city-owned buildings.

She says BCSEA is also working with the City of Vancouver on the Solar Hot Water Acceleration Project, with programs planned soon in other communities in the province.

“Our target is 100,000 homes in B.C.,” Harris says.

Ultimately, she says she’d like to see B.C. surpass Austria, where one out of every eight homes uses solar hot water systems.

BCSEA plans to further its work of promoting solar energy in the province by sponsoring the upcoming Solar Summit, to be held in Vancouver from March 31 to April 2.

The Solar Summit, which will include workshops on solar hot water heating, addresses by experts and tours of installations, will move later to Dawson Creek and to Victoria, which is the head office of the BCSEA.

Solar Hot Water Acceleration Project
http://www.solarbc.org/

BC Sustainable Energy Association
http://www.bcsea.org