Mayor of Kelowna Shines in the Spotlight

Sharon Shepherd is the fourth BC Mayor to install residential solar hot water

The panels were installed on the Mayor's garage roof for maximum exposure to sunlight.

Mayor Sharon Shepherd has just installed solar hot water in preparation of the Okanagan sunshine that’s springing around the corner. Mayor Shepherd joins our other Solar Community Mayors who’ve installed solar hot water on their homes – alongside Mayor Ken Melamed of Whistler, Mayor Gregor Robertson of Vancouver and Chief Gordon Planes, of T’Sou-ke First Nation.

"I have been an advocate of solar for our city and felt I should look at the opportunity to do it in my own home," she said of her new install, completed by SolarBC Registered Installers Swiss Solar Tech, of Summerland BC.

Mayor Shepherd is no stranger to solar - when she and her husband first purchased their home in Kelowna in the late 70s, they installed solar to an outdoor pool. Back then, she said, solar was a new technology that was getting a lot of attention but the attention dwindled in the 80s. "It’s been reintroduced," she says, "So we’re enthused about having it on the home."

While her install went smoothly she admits that she learned how much simpler it would have been to install solar hot water on a new home.

"I understand it’s not too expensive (for new homes) to become solar ready and I think it’s the right route to go," she said, adding that as a community, building solar ready is a great step in the right direction. This allows for homeowners to have the opportunity to go solar down the road, and already have the infrastructure in place.

"I would absolutely use technology for new builds," she said.

While it’s too soon to count the energy savings, Mayor Shepherd says she and her husband won’t have a lack of hot water through the spring and fall – although the install was more than just about the savings.

"I guess we just feel good about doing the right thing," she says. "And proud that we’ve made this step to decrease green house gases."

As for the potential of solar in the community she says it’s an energy source that she feels is important to tap into and, moving forward, hopes to continue developing solar infrastructure within the city of Kelowna.