If you live in the Cowichan Valley, you've probably heard of Peter Nix. If he's not busy engaging the public on climate change issues as a Cowichan Carbon Busters spokesperson, you may have seen his solar powered Eco-bus that includes both a solar PV panel and a wind turbine on the roof. Or, you may have met him during the BC Solar Days Open House tours in 2010, when he welcomed friends and neighbours over to take a look at his solar hot water system.
"I always thought solar hot water was reasonably economic," he says over the phone earlier this summer, while watering the blueberries in his garden. "It's an important example of how to move forward and stop using oil. And it cuts down on my electric a bit, and wood energy."
Peter says his goal is to be carbon neutral in seven years and he currently works towards that goal by riding an electric scooter around town as well as attempting to get off wood, and invest in a heat pump. He is currently working on an idea to organize a bulk buy of heat pumps in his community, having organized a successful solar hot water bulk buy in his neighbourhood a couple of years ago. He's also keeping his eye on PV, having watched the price decrease over the last few years from $12 per watt to $5. "I want to put PV between my blueberries," he says, but adds that he'll wait a while longer for prices to continue to drop.
Right now, he also has some thoughts on further utilizing solar hot water. "I also have this crazy idea to link the system up to our greenhouse," he says. In fact, solar hot water is a great way to supplement heat in greenhouses, and can be installed to help heat plant beds for spring seedlings, chilly summer evenings and winter food production.
As for the solar system currently installed on his home for domestic hot water use, Peter says realistically he hasn't saved that much money, due in part to a complicated heating system of wood, oil and electricity, and also the fact that his household rarely uses hot water. "You have to use a fair bit of hot water to make it worthwhile," he says. "But I am happy I did it – even in economic terms it's good for the long term, and walk the walk if we want to talk the talk."