Natural Resources Canada is investing $400,000 to encourage homeowners in B.C.'s Interior to install solar water heaters to reduce power consumption from the grid.
The money is being put into the government's solar hot water heating program through the ecoEnergy for Renewable Heat initiative, a $36 million program designed to expand the use of renewable energy for space heating and hot water.
The program is being delivered by FortisBC and provides $1,000 rebates for new home developers in the Okanagan and the Kootenays to install solar hot water heating systems. The program also provides a $300 rebate for homeowners who install solar hot water heating systems.
The program can potentially reduce hundreds of tonnes of household greenhouse gas emissions in the regions. A solar water heating system supplies up to 60% of an average home's hot water needs and through reduced energy requirements and heating costs can reduce each household's annual greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne.