Upcoming changes to the B.C. Building code will likely result in greener, much more energy efficient houses. And more and more homeowners are taking part in this trend seeking savings and a smaller environmental footprint.

In Cranbrook, a new home in the Kootenay Orchards neighbourhood has just had installed the first solar hot water system to be incorporated into a new building, as part of an impetus by Solar BC.

Craig Walker, of Elk Valley Sustainability, installed the system under the auspices of Solar BC, an agency funded by the Province and administered by the BC Sustainable Energy Association.

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

Walker has a similar system installed at his home and finds he can turn off his hot water tank altogether during the summer months. “Solar provides 100 per cent of our summer hot water and preheats for the rest of the year. Every degree of heat added in the solar storage tank is energy and money saved,” he said.

He expects such installations to increase, both in new homes being built in the province and in “retro-fits,” as builders and homeowners adapt to the building code changes and as homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient,

Walker says Solar BC is offering an incentive on installation of these systems — either a $2,000 point of sale discount or as zero per cent financing. An average system cost is $6,900, and Walker says it will pay for itself three times over its lifespan.

Changes to the B.C. Building Code will kick in the fall of 2011. All new houses built in the province will be required to meet EnerGuide standards.

Jarrett Rudrum, of Livingstone Developments, who built the home in the Kootenay Orchards area, says incorporating such systems into new homes are becoming more and more mainstream.

“They’re becoming a reality,” Rudrum said. “They’re becoming a necessary component of home energy systems.

“As the energy code drives our building code more, it will become a vital component of building, more than just an option.”

The homeowners themselves — Terry and Linda Anderson — have fully bought into the concept.

“Utility costs aren’t going down,” Terry said. “As we’re going into retirement, we looked at anything we could do, to help the environment and our pocketbook. We wanted to embellish what we have, and give some help for the future as much as possible.”

Using the sun isn’t the only way the Andersons set out to maximize energy efficiency. Dimmer switches on all the walls, a thermal break in the walls with double insulation, low-flow toilets with dual flushing systems — “There’s lots of little things you can do,” said Linda.