Solar Hot Water Made Easy

. . . for your home AND your wallet

If you have been wondering about solar hot water but haven’t yet taken the plunge, now is a smart time to investigate solar hot water for your home and take advantage of SolarBC, BCSEA's largest program. SolarBC incentives for solar hot water have been doubled during February and March, from $1,000 to $2,000 for the first 200 residential solar installations.

On top of the boost from SolarBC, an additional $1,250 is available through the ecoEnergy retrofit program, along with $300 for FortisBC customers, which means almost half of the cost of a solar hot water system could be paid for if you qualify for the additional incentives.

Most people don’t realize that heating water accounts for about 30% of a typical BC household's energy use. A solar hot water system can provide up to half that energy (and all of it during the summer months), cutting energy costs by around $300 a year and reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by up to one tonne.

7 Steps to a solar hot water decision

Step 1: Check that your home has good solar potential. You can use www.solarrating.ca for a free DIY solar evaluation.

Step 2: Learn about the residential SolarBC program by taking 15 minutes to explore it here.

Step 3: Think about getting an home energy assessment by a NRCan certified energy advisor. It’ll cost $150, and give you a Home Energy Rating, guidance on how to improve your home's efficiency, and open the door to an additional $1,250 on top of the SolarBC rebate (plus up to $5,000 in grants for other green retrofit projects).

Step 4: Look at photos to get a sense of what’s available in BC. Study the choice of systems, and make sure you check which permits may be required.

Step 5: Learn about the average cost of a system ($6,800), and how the available grants can reduce this by up to $2,375 - or $3,375 if the additional time-limited incentive is put in place. If you’ve not got cash in hand, learn about SolarBC Low-Interest Financing, and how some of the incentives can be converted into a zero-interest loan, with monthly repayments over 5 years.

Step 6: You’re now ready to pick up the phone, call a SolarBC Registered Installer, and talk to them. They’ll come out to your house and give you a quote.

Step 7: Decide! From this point on, your installer will look after the details, and you’ll soon be enjoying water heated directly by the sun. Then you can submit your story to the SolarBC website, so that others can benefit too. But don’t delay - these steps take time, and the doubled SolarBC incentives expire on March 31st.