Living in a PowerHouse

By Ashley Spegel

Alternative, eco-friendly energy resources are no longer as unattainable as they once were, and more energy providers are utilizing renewable resources to safeguard our planet and save consumers money.

The latest environmental initiative is PowerHouse, a loan and rebate pilot program offering zero-interest loans and rebates for residential installations of solar water heating, solar photovoltaic, geothermal and wind turbine systems.

"(It was a project) we were interested in supporting because we?re heavily involved in conservation," said Ian Campbell, PowerHouse project lead and senior conservation and demand management strategic planner at Hydro One. "It was a natural extension of our conservation to promote renewable energy, and it's good for customers and good for us."

Hydro One Networks, along with the Ontario Ministry of Energy, Hydro One Brampton and Enersource Hydro Mississauga, collaborated on the pilot to promote awareness and make available - affordable and renewable energy for homeowners.

The pilot, which expires February 15, 2009, offers a loan or rebate to homeowners who purchase any of the four technologies available to power their home.

Through this program, customers will save a significant amount of money and considerably reduce their carbon footprint.

"Loans are available in a minimum of $2,000 and go up to $50,000, depending on the size of project. They are zero-interest, unsecured loans, which are beneficial because homeowners avoid interest costs by taking out a loan that could go as high as 20 per cent of the project. And that's a fare a bit of money they save," says Campbell. "The rebates are more or less equivalent to the interest saving of the loan, and they are 10 to 20 per cent the value of project."

The loan program offers a zero-interest loan on any of the alternative energy outlets. Set up with TD Canada Trust, the customer is responsible for paying back the principle of the loan and Hydro One pays the interest.

If the homeowner is leaning towards the rebate program, Hydro One will provide a rebate cheque once it approves the customer's application and gives the go-ahead for the installation.

Presently, Hydro One is holding workshops that have been stimulating consumer demand and there's been a small, but steady growth of homeowners interested in taking part in PowerHouse.

Campbell explains that geothermal energy has received the most attention of the four alternative technologies because it takes heat from the ground via ground-source heat pumps. It is concealed underground and requires less space when compared to a wind turbine on solar panel.

"There have always been people interested in this type of program, but the problem was that it's been a high-cost investment," he says. "Without support, a project like PowerHouse is not as attractive. Now, with the incentives we provide, it helps (with consumer interest and demand)."

PowerHouse is not offered to all Ontario residents because the Ministry and Hydro One Networks are evaluating demand in smaller regions to forecast the numbers in larger areas.

Hydro One network homeowners in Brampton, Mississauga, Caledon and parts of York Region - King Township, East Gwillimbury, Georgina or Whitchurch-Stouffville - are all eligible for the loan and rebate programs. 

"We hope to be able to make (this pilot) attractive to customers and get them to participate. We want to make it easy and make it attractive to put in a renewable system," Campbell says. "We hope the project proves to be successful and expect it to expand to larger portions of the province. We want to see its success and learn from the pilot to make the program more effective (in other parts of the province)."

The price for oil isn't getting any cheaper, and PowerHouse is ideal and affordable for homeowners looking for alternatives to fossil fuels to save money and the environment.

For more information on how you can power your home with PowerHouse, visit http://powerhouseprogram.ca or www.hydroone.com.