Incentives and Costs

SolarBC is working to ensure that solar hot water is an accessible and affordable consumer choice for heating hot water in the home.

For info on residential installs click here.

The average cost for an installed solar hot water system under the program is approximately $6,900. This average price includes smaller systems for 2/3 person households and larger, more expensive systems for households of 4 or more people. Individual costs will vary depending on which installer and system you use, how many people live in your home and the size of your system. There may also be additional costs associated with travel to more remote areas of the province. Please ensure you obtain quotes from at least 3 registered SolarBC installers servicing your area.

SolarBC contractors will provide you with a $1,000 discount at the point of sale of your solar hot water system. For systems installed in February and March 2010, we are also providing an additional $1,000 discount

Typical System Cost $6,900
SolarBC discount $2,000
*Livesmart Rebate $125
**EcoENERGY Rebate $1,250
***PowerSense Rebate $300
Net cost to customer $3,225

Our registered SolarBC contractors will help you understand the incentives that you are entitled to, or please do not hesitate to call us at 1-866-650-6527 if you have any questions.

*The LiveSmart BC: Efficiency Incentive Program has reached its three-year target of 40,000 initial home energy assessments in only 15 months. The $60-million program is now fully committed and as such, will no longer provide $125 incentives to new participants, effective end of business Aug. 15, 2009. Please note: the $150 subsidy for an initial home energy assessment is still in effect. There is no change for homeowners who had their first energy assessment performed prior to August 16, 2009. This means they will still receive the incentive of $125, as well as a subsidy of $150 for their pre-retrofit home energy assessment. However, Solar hot water installations and a second energy assessment must be completed before March 2011, or 18 months after your first home energy assessment. Homeowners entering the program on or after August 16, 2009, are eligible for only the $150 energy assessment subsidy.

**The ecoEnergy retrofit grant is available for homeowners who have their first energy assessment carried out before April 1, 2010. For energy assessments completed on or after April 1 2010, systems must deliver a minimum of 6 GJ energy savings per year and be CSA certified or in the queue for certification. For more information visit the Natural Resources Canada website.

***PowerSense rebate is available to FortisBC residential customers with existing electric hot water tanks – including indirect customers served by municipal wholesalers (Cities of Kelowna, Penticton, Grand Forks, Nelson Hydro and District of Summerland.)

Option 1: SolarBC Incentives Only

There are up to $3,375 incentives available towards the costs of installing solar hot water. SolarBC Registered Installers will provide you with a $2,000 discount at the point of sale and a further $1250 is available from the Federal ecoEnergy Retrofit program, upon completion of your install and your second energy assessment. If you had an assessment done prior to August 15, 2009 you will also still be eligable for the $125 grant from Livesmart BC, so long as the second assessment is carried out within 18 months of your first home energy assessment.

Option 2: SolarBC Zero Interest Financing

TD logo Rather than the full $2,000 point of sale discount, participants can opt for a lower point of sale discount and can finance the remaining cost of the system through our SolarBC Zero Interest Loan. SolarBC has negotiated this special rate for participants through our finance provider, TD Bank. For a $6,000 loan, this will mean payments of approximately $110 per month, making the installation costs much more affordable. Customers can also choose to pay down the loan at anytime over the five years with no penalties. This special SolarBC loan is only available to SolarBC participants who install solar hot water in their homes. SolarBC contractors will make the loan application on your behalf, in your own home and an approval decision will be provided within twenty four hours. All aspects of the loan are administered on your behalf by SolarBC. Ask your registered contractor for more information on the SolarBC Loan. You will still be eligible to receive the $1250 rebate from the Federal ecoEnergy Retrofit.

Apply online now. When you click on this link you will be redirected to a secure online application form through our loan provider TD bank, via Dealeraccess. Dealeraccess is TD Bank’s secure online portal to submit credit applications. All Customer Data is completely confidential and protected by 128 bit encryption and by Microsoft .Net security enhancements. *Please note: In the Additional Information section, state SolarBC + Installers name.

Option 3: Independent Financing

Participants may also choose to arrange their own financing for their solar hot water system, independently of SolarBC, for example as part of a home mortgage or through a line of credit. With longer term loans of 20 years or more, monthly solar energy savings will normally be greater than the costs of such a loan. In addition, some lenders offer special rates for energy efficient improvements such as the Van City Bright Ideas variable rate loan at prime. To qualify, you need to make renovations recommended by an ecoENERGY Retrofit evaluation of your home. These renovations must achieve at least a five-point improvement in your home’s energy efficiency rating. See www.vancity.com for more information.

Provincial Sales Tax Exempt

Premier Gordon Campbell

Purchases and leases of prescribed wind, solar, and micro-hydro power generating equipment are exempt from PST.

Please note that while the following materials and equipment are exempt, they must be sold as complete units in order for their component parts (such as wiring, controllers, devices, tubing, etc) to qualify for the exemption. If the component parts are sold separately, they are taxable, even if the complete unit is split up and invoiced separately for shipping purposes.

  • Solar photovoltaic collector panels, together with wiring, controllers, and devices that convert direct current into alternating current, when they are sold with, and as part of, that system.
  • Solar thermal collector panels, together with wiring, pumps, tubing, and heat exchangers, when they are sold with, and as part of, that system.

Please follow this link to find out about more about Provincial Government PST exemptions for equipment and material used to conserve energy.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Mortgage Loan Insurance Refund

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers a 10% premium refund on its mortgage loan insurance premiums, as well as extended amortization to a maximum of 35 years, to individuals who use CMHC-insured financing to purchase an energy efficient home, purchase a home and make energy-saving renovations, or renovate their existing home to make it more energy efficient.

For home buyers, the refund and extended amortization are available:

  • When the house is R-2000-certified.
  • When the house has an EnerGuide for Houses (EGH) rating of 77 or above.
  • When houses with a rating of less than 77 are renovated to increase the house’s at EGH rating by least five points and to a rating of at least 40.

The refund is also available for mortgages refinanced for the purpose of making energy-saving renovations to houses with an EGH rating of less than 80. The renovations must increase the house’s rating by at least five points and to a rating of at least 40.

EGH ratings are obtained through the EGH evaluation service. For those planning to build a new R-2000 home, it is recommended that an EGNH Advisor evaluate the building plans before the house is built. If the home is built to R-2000 standard or rated 77 or above on the EGH scale, the borrower is eligible for CMHC’s Mortgage Loan Insurance for Energy Efficient Homes. Extended amortization is available through participating lenders for new CMHC mortgage insurance applications approved as of January 2005.