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Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Exeter Times–Advocate
3
Energy-efficient home coming to Exeter
By Scott Nixon
TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF
EXETER — Exeter will
soon be home to "green"
technology.
Evert Schaap, president
of e -vert energy, is build-
ing a home and workshop
that will be powered by
an 80 -foot windmill and
solar panels. His home,
one of only a handful like
it in North America,
requires no hook-up to
hydro or gas.
Schaap's innovative,
energy-efficient home
and business are nearing
completion just west of
Exeter on Hwy. 83. He
hopes to be done in two
to three weeks and will
move into the home with
his wife and their two
children.
Schaap's home will be
heated with "active" and
"passive" solar energy,
which will harness the
sun's energy with large
solar windows. Using
solar energy, air will be
heated and stored in a
storage room, from
where it will be distrib-
uted throughout the
home through air ducts.
The storage room allows
Schaap's home to store
heat for up to a week
with no sunshine.
While his house is self-
contained from any
municipal hook-ups,
Schaap says the one
hook-up he couldn't avoid
is a Bell telephone line.
Schaap should have
power running through
his house in the next two
weeks. An 80 -foot wind-
mill will be erected on his
property that will pro-
duce 3 kw/hour/day. The
energy generated from
the windmill and the
solar panels will charge
batteries in the basement
of Schaap's house that
Evert Schaap expects work to be done on his new
energy-efficient home and business in about two
weeks.The home and business will be powered by an
80 -foot windmill and solar panels and requires no
hydro or gas hook-ups. (photo/Scott Nixon)
Macey's
Phone
238-8016
2 km south of
Grand
` Bend
OPEN DAILY 8 am to 8 pm
Are you having Thanksgiving at home?
Why not take a "turkey to go"?
We will provide the entire meal ready to serve and
piping hot! Your very own ready -to -serve turkey
dinner. You can tell us when you wish to pick it
up and it will be ready.
All you have to do is carve!
Assorted Rolls with creamery butter, Butternut
Squash Soup Mixed greens with dressing, Medley of
carrots and rutabaga Buttered broccoli and
cauliflower, Ontario mashed potatoes Roasted mini
potatoes, Macey's traditional stuffing, Oven
roasted young turkey, Roast gravy & cranberry sauce
Homemade pumpkin pie
$99.95 plus taxes Serves up to 6 people
THANKSGIVING BRUNCH
$19.95 /person
October 10, 11 am to 3 pm
Festive brunch buffet with a
large assortment of hot & cold
food stations. Reserve today.
BOOK YOUR CHRISTMAS PARTY NOW
Choose from a large selection of festive menus offering
Plated or buffet service or we can build a custom menu
to your needs. Packages starting from $13.95 / person.
will power the house.
Drinking water will
come from a well and will
be treated and heated at
the home. Also, a grey -
water tank will collect
water from the roof and
will be used for things
like the toilet, watering
the lawn and washing the
cars. A filter will treat
water after it leaves the
septic tank so it can be
used for agricultural pur-
poses.
Schaap's house will also
produce almost no car-
bon dioxide; the only time
carbon dioxide will be
released from the home
is on those odd occasions
when he has to use his
wood stove for heat.
The house won't have
air conditioning, but
Schaap said a de -humidi-
fier and ceiling fans will
keep the house cool. The
bedrooms will be in the
basement.
The business on
Schaap's property will be
used to sell energy-effi-
cient products such as
small windmills, emer-
gency lights, and flash-
lights that don't use bat-
teries. Schaap expects the
business to be open Oct.
1
Schaap says he has had
many positive comments
from people on his pro-
ject and he intends to
have open houses so peo-
ple can see how every-
thing works. He says the
Municipality of South
Huron has been "very co-
operative" with the pro-
ject.
Schaap, who came to
Canada from Holland
three years ago, says he
has been interested in
energy efficiency for 25
years. Now living in
Jerseyville (east of
Brantford), Schaap says
this is his first big project.
He and his family are
excited about moving into
the new home.
Schaap has been con-
sidering this project for
"many years," and he
says projects like his are
becoming more necessary
because Canada is run-
ning out of fossil fuels.
"This is by far the
cheapest solution," he
said, adding that while
his house costs about
$45,000 extra to make it
energy efficient, Schaap
will get that money back
in savings in 12-15 years.
Schaap said projects
such as his are more
common across Europe,
where they've been deal-
ing with energy issues for
a long time. He said he
can use the knowledge he
gained in Holland and
apply it in Canada. The
technology is available,
Canadians simply need to
be more aware about it.
"You can build whole
neighbourhoods ... thou-
sands of houses with no
hydro and gas," Schaap
says, adding energy-effi-
cient homes make "a
huge difference" in your
monthly bills — in fact,
Schaap won't have hydro
or gas bills.
He said energy-efficient
homes give their resi-
dents more independence
because they're not rely-
ing on Hydro One or
Union Gas.
"It requires a little
courage," he admits, "but
it will work."
ATTENTION SOUTH HURON WATER
AND SEWAGE CUSTOMERS
Dillon Consulting has been contracted by
South Huron to develop a new long-term water
and sewage financial plan for the Municipality.
On Thurs. Sept. 30, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
AT South Huron Recreation Centre -
Exeter
Dillon Consultants will be available to discuss the
proposed water and sewage rate increases and
address your questions and concerns.
PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND.
Floor Designs
190 Thames Rd. Exeter 235-1652
Fall is just around the corner, it's the time of
year that we start spending more time inside.
Start thinking of indoor home improvements.
Join DOUG MEIKLE
and Torlys representative
for a clic demonstration
OPEN HOUSE
SAT. OCT. 2 AT 10:00
OCTOBER IS LAMINATE MONTH
RECEIVE 15% OFF ALL LAMINATE ORDERS