If you have ever pondered the idea of turning your Halifax home greener by converting your hot water heater to solar, now may be the time to do it.
The Halifax Regional Municipality is making an effort to help bring cleaner, greener technologies to homeowners by way of the Community Solar Project.
The Community Solar Project is a proposed pilot program that has the goal of making solar technology more accessible to metro's residents. The real gem in this project is that, if it comes to realization, experts from City Hall will help homeowners deal with the logistical obstacles they may face while converting their hot water heating systems to solar power. Also, City Hall will ensure that residents get all the federal and provincial rebates that they may be eligible to receive through this program.
Better yet, if you are an eligible resident, you won't have to pay out-of-pocket for the conversion unless you choose to. The cost will be financed by City Hall, which you can repay over a period of 5 to 10 years via an increase of about $400 per year on your tax bill. Best of all, the cost of the conversion should be less than the annual energy savings to your home!
Applications are being accepted on a first-come, first-served basis and is in the early stages. According to Richard MacLelland, the manager of metro's sustainable environment management office, the response has been "overwhelming".
"It shut down the inbox for about 25 minutes, but they got it sorted out," MacLelland said. "Within the first 24 hours, we had about 1,000 applications and now we're up to 1,200 or so."
He said he hadn't anticipated the enthusiastic response, but he's pleased with the number of people who have shown an interest in the program.
"You've got to remember that last year, in all of Canada, there were just 800 hot-water solar installations," he said. He chalked up the healthy level of interest in metro to a lot of factors, including ever-increasing power and water rates.
He also gave residents credit. "I think people in Nova Scotia are very in tune with the environment and want to be able to do the right thing."
MacLelland said the likelihood is that about 20% of the applications may not be technically suitable for the solar hot water system.
If you are curious how your home chalks up against the requirements, here are the two main requirements - your home must have solar potential, meaning a suitable location for the solar panels. If your home is next to a multi-level apartment building or large trees, there may be a problem. Also, you need to have enough space in your mechanical room for a solar tank.
For MacLelland's office, the next step is to work out a financial model and set up various rebate programs. Once approval is granted, installations can be planned for late summer or early fall.
Your next step should be to immediately contact City Hall about signing up and getting approval for the program. Not only will you be helping to save the planet, you will reap the benefits of lower energy costs and greater home resale value when you sell your home.
Comments(0)