Findings unveiled for year-long Solar Neighbourhoods pilot program

The married father of two young children said he was able to save more than 50 per cent of the $8,500 to purchase and install his system last November.

Brown, who owns a three-storey, flat-roof home in Pape Village, was one of about 100 participants in the pilot program called Solar Neighbourhoods.

Canada's largest single-city solar water heating initiative, the program, which is now closed, was the result of a partnership between the Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF), the Toronto Energy Efficiency Office, the Toronto Environment Office and Toronto Hydro. The Portlands Energy Centre, through a provincially mandated $400,000 contribution, funded the creation of Solar Neighbourhoods.

Participants were offered up to $2,000 in rebates from the federal and provincial governments as well as additional financial incentives from Solar Neighbourhoods: a $1,000 grant or a 10-year, no-interest loan with a $500 grant.

The average solar thermal water system costs $3,500 to $8,500, depending on its size and the complexity of its installation.

Solar Neighbourhoods will be monitoring the system's efficiency and collecting data until April. The federal Ministry of Natural Resources is also hoping to obtain data from the pilot program participants for its Canada-wide pilot program, which is managed locally by Enbridge and Bullfrog Power.

Brown, a 15-year area resident, said he first learned about the initiative two years ago and called organizers to express his interested in participating. A resident of Ward 31 (Toronto-Danforth), his home wasn't initially within the pilot program's Ward 30 coverage area. Eight months later, the program's boundaries were softened to include homes in Wards 29, 31 and 32.

Brown said he's happy some of the initial kinks, such as reducing the cost and length of the city's structural building permit process as well as roadblocks pertaining to provincial water safety requirements, were addressed before he signed up.

Admitting his return on investment may not come for several years, Brown said he's still encouraged to see the system's day-to-day results.

"My original hot water tank hasn't come on for weeks. I know I'm not paying for that and it's a nice feeling," he said, adding the cost of the systems will surely come down once the industry matures.

Mary Pickering, TAF's associate director, said several factors made the program successful.

"What made the program attractive was the financial assistance, both the discounts and the no-interest loan. Ongoing communication with interested buyers also helped the process," she said, adding 25 per cent of systems were sold to clusters of two or three homeowners on the same block.

Toronto Community Housing Corporation also stepped up to the plate, purchasing 30 systems for low-income, single-family housing units in the area.

The findings report also determined the average buyer was a younger family (age 31 to 40) with three to four members, with an average household income of $100,000 or more. The majority of purchasers (68 per cent) went for Solar Neighbourhood's zero-interest incentive, while 32 per cent took the $1,000 grant.

Some of the challenges identified include the lack of recognizable brand-name suppliers as well as the high upfront cost and relatively long payback.

To counteract this, the Solar Neighbourhoods team made extra efforts to have a high visibility in the pilot program area throughout the process as well as a comprehensive website at www.solarneighbourhoods.ca

Overall, Pickering said the pilot program was a success as only 800 solar hot water systems are installed in Canada each year.

Pickering said the biggest challenge is sustainability as the federal government has since cancelled its ecoENERGY program. Provincial funds are still available, but they, too, could be removed, she added.

"The participants in the pilot program probably enjoyed the highest rate of incentives. It was a really good deal."

Pickering said she appreciates the financial incentives offered to those interested in purchasing photovoltaic (solar energy generation) systems but said in the long-run, solar thermal actually has better pollution-reduction benefits.

"It would be nice if we could have an equal incentive for solar thermal," she said. "There's an imbalance now that is going to make it very hard for us to expand the program. We've got to get the economics to be at least reasonable."

Although the pilot project is now closed, the Solar Neighbourhoods team can still provide information on selecting a solar hot water system that they maintain makes good sense even without the incentives.

For additional information, contact Mary Pickering at 416-392-1217 or mpickering@tafund.org