The Citizen, 2007-05-03, Page 19Continued from page 18of your water all the time, but you
don’t need hot water 24 hours a day.
Another step to take would be to put
a timer on the heater, to turn it off
during hours when it isn’t in
use.”
Schaap says the heaters do a lot of
the heating outdoors by the sun, then
circulating the water into the tank,
often at or near the temperature it
needs to be, therefore leaving little to
no work for the on-grid heater to
do.
“The heaters are definitely
efficient and cheap, there are no
moving parts and they should stay
there for the next 25 - 50 years. I
don’t know how long they last, they
have only been on the market for
three years or so,” Schaap says.
“For an average household, that’s
a $1,500 investment, which has a
very quick payback time. That’s
something that I can always
recommend.”
Schaap says that in addition to his
shop, there are several local sites on
the Internet where you can buy these
products.
He said it used to be difficult to
find, but now, they are very easy to
come by. In addition to the internet,
the Centre for Applied Renewable
Energy can steer you in the right
direction as well.
In addition to the water heaters,
traditional photovoltaic solar panels
are accessible and easy to set up and
easy to get your hands on, says
Blaney.
Blaney also urges people to talk to
their local building inspector before
undertaking any structure. Schaap
says that wind turbines can be a
sticky subject with building codes,
but solar should never be.
Nevertheless, Blaney insists it’s
better to be safe than sorry.
“Find out what’s going to worry
your building inspector. Because it’s
a new field and some building
inspectors will have a greater
comfort level with this than others,
it’s better to consult them,” Blaney
said.
“There is no legal reason you can’t
do it, but you should go and talk to
them from the beginning to make
sure they understand what you’re
going to do and then it just makes
life easier.”Huron East chief building official
Paul Josling admits his inexperience
with the topic, saying that no one has
come to him with questions
concerning solar power structures.
He does assume however, that
normal building inspection concerns
would apply.
If it’s bigger than a certain size, it
might need a permit, but there is
little to be concerned about the
smaller the structure is.
Starting from the ground up,
however, is a different story. This is
where creativity can be used to
maximize a house’s solar power
capabilities.
First of all, says renewable energy
enthusiast Tony McQuail of the
Lucknow area, the orientation of the
house on the lot is essential. Schaap
agrees, saying too much sunlight is
hitting our houses that we’re not
making use of.
“First of all, make sure you build
the house to face south and have big
windows due south. The amount of
sunshine that comes into a house
every day is not something you can
easily neglect,” Schaap says.
“The sunlight really heats up a
house quickly. If you’re building a
new home, you also have to go with
as much insulation as you can.”
Another thing to think about is
landscaping says McQuail.
“By having open areas to the east
and south of the home and trees to
the west, in the winter, snow can
provide a reflective surface to
maximize the sunlight coming into
the house,” he said. “Trees to the
west can also provide shading in the
house in the afternoon.”
McQuail tries to use as much of
the natural light as possible, pointing
out such simple uses that are taken
for granted, like drying clothes on a
clothesline instead of in a dryer.
While the benefits to homeowners
and to the environment seem
abundant, several people involved in
the field, feel that Canadian political
will is lacking in this area.
“The government is backing
green programs, but they never
seem to put serious money into
it. It’s a lot of empty promises to
fuel the discussions for the
next election, so it’s a bit double-
hearted,” Schaap says.“The idea behind it is that the oil
and nuclear energy lobby is so
strong in this country, there is a lot of
money behind it, so the federal
government can’t afford to go into
big scale green energy because they
can lose a lot of financial support
from the oil industry and that makes
it difficult for them. You should
blame them, because it’s an
environmental issue, but on the other
hand, from a political point of view,
it’s hard.”
Schaap calls people who want to
invest in renewable energy people
who are willing to stick their neck
out for this cause, not so muchpeople who are out to make a buck.
Blaney agrees.
“The benefits are societal benefits,there’s less pollution, but it might
cost more.”
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2007. PAGE 19. Before beginning get the rules from building official
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