Solar Hot Water Project

In February 2009, Delta Municipal Hall was the first municipality in Metro Vancouver to install a solar hot water system on a municipal hall. Partial funding was obtained from Natural Resources Canada and Solar BC. The solar hot water system provides over 60% of the Municipal Hall's hot water requirements. Energy production and natural gas consumption are being monitored. Hot water use at Municipal Hall includes:

• Bathroom sinks
• Dishwashers
• Shower
• Lunch room/serveries

On May 29, 2010, the Corporation of Delta was formally designated a Solar Community by the Honourable Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum.

As a Solar Community, Delta received $5,000 to promote the use of solar hot water systems including information sessions for builders and developers and staff training in solar energy applications.

Solar BC Program

In Delta, most hot water heating systems utilize natural gas, a fossil fuel, to heat water for domestic and institutional needs. Heating water typically accounts for 30% of a home's total energy use. Similarly, Delta also has significant natural gas demands for heating water for our facilities. Solar Hot Water systems, the technology promoted and utilized by the Solar BC Program, offset regular natural gas consumption by heating and/or preheating water through the conversion of energy from the sun to heat via solar collectors mounted on roofs. Reducing natural gas consumption saves money and greenhouse gases.

Solar energy comes from radiation generated by the sun in addition to visible sunlight. This means that solar hot water systems will work on cloudy days and throughout the winter. Solar collectors sit on a roof and are composed of a series of tubes packaged into a 6m squared rectangle that are filled with water or a water and antifreeze solution. The solution carries heat from the collectors and pumps it through a heat exchanger to a tank for storage and subsequent use. Research conducted by the BC Sustainable Energy Association and Natural Resources Canada have carefully examined the feasibility of solar energy in Metro Vancouver and support its use for residential, commercial and institutional buildings.

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How Does it Work?

• Solar collectors absorb radiant energy from the sun.
• A pump circulates heated liquid from the panels and through the heat exchanger in the solar storage tank.
• Heat is transferred to the water in the solar storage tank.
• Solar heated water is added to the regular hot water tank ready for use.

More information can be found at www.solarbc.ca

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