Mr. Goldberg's beautiful 4-bedroom and 3-bathroom home, located close to St. Clair Avenue and Bathurst Street, has of solar-powered systems.

This home in midtown Toronto attracts the attention of local residents who have found the all of the equipment, panels, and tubes on roof fascinating.

He says,

"It's quite comical. People walk by my house and they kind of stop and look up at my roof. I guess it's a bit of a novelty."

He added on,

"There's nothing different from my house than anyone else's house aside from the fact we've decided to take ownership of our responsibility to minimize our impact on the environment, specifically with the energy we're using."

He is not the only one who is using solar power to provide electricity and heat water. There are lots of other people in Toronto who have turned to this newfound development.

The solar photovoltaic system costs $22,000, while solar thermal water-heating equipment costs $3,000.

The solar thermal systems first heats the water and then transfers it to the tank. The initial cost for installing the systems are high, ranging from $20,000 to $30,000 dollars. However, real estate experts vouch that they are a good long-term investment. 

Personally, I think your breakeven point is way into the future.  It seems more of a novelty item than a cost savings at this point.  Unless there are some financial incentives from the government to install these energy savers, I think it’s a tough sell to the average consumer.

Also, don’t forget, Toronto’s real estate market is on fire and home values have been increasing steadily by 15% per year for the past 5 years or so.  Furthermore, their average home price is around $430,000.  This may be easier for Torontonians to swallow than the rest of us.