Solar energy

Our future truly depends on us continuing to develop and implementrenewable energy systems.In Canada, Ontario is at the forefront of that movement by offering strongfinancial incentives让房主自己生产能源。

Some of the other provinces seem to be lagging behind, offering artificially low rates and no net metering buy-back plan, rendering home renewable energy production essentially a noble, yet unprofitable undertaking for homeowners.

不管经济回报如何，任何家庭可再生能源系统都是清洁能源，并将减少对能源基础设施的需求，从而减少排放。

Passive solar heating

Passive solar heating is the concept of using home design and orientation to collect heat directly from the sun. No panels, no wires, no tubes, that’s why it’s called ‘passive’.

By having 60% of your windows facing south and building your house within 15 degrees of the east/west axis, you can reduce your heating needs by as much as 25% or more.

A successfulpassive solar homealso involves positioning materials with high solar absorption (stone, brick, ceramic) in the direct path of the sun’s rays; and darker colours absorb more heat than lighter colours.

High quality windows (triple pane, argon, low E)allow for heat gain, while reducing nighttime heat loss.

对于被动式太阳能住宅来说，有适当的遮阳是很重要的。忽略这些细节可能意味着你节省下来的取暖费用会在夏天被用于制冷。This can be accomplished with roof overhangs, awnings, interior reflective blinds or deciduous trees that offer summer shade, but lose their leaves and allow winter exposure.

Windows should be designed and positioned for maximum exposure to the sun December 21, and fully shaded June 21.

  • Pros:This should be the first thought for any home design. It offers reduced heating costs and improved quality of life. A long Canadian winter seems shorter with a bright sunny home.
  • Cons:Poorly designed, these homes are prone to overheating. Moreover, this system is difficult to adopt in existing houses.
  • Lifespan and cost:No extra costs, and it will continue to provide heat as long as your home stands.

Solar thermal heating and solar water heaters

This refers to using solar panels to absorb heat in a liquid (mix of glycol and water) and redistribute it throughout the house, through radiators orradiant floor heat.A system can work to heat your home, as well as pre-heating your domestic hot water.

它可以很容易地为你提供60%或更多的暖气和热水在冬天和几乎所有的热水需求在夏天。有了一个良好的被动式太阳能住宅，就有可能满足你所有的供暖需求。

  • Pros:Undeniably green, very low maintenance. Can be combined to heat your home as well as pre-heating your domestic hot water.
  • Cons:这套系统价格昂贵(7,000美元以上)，回报时间很长，可达10至15年，但最终仍能节省开支。你仍然需要一个传统的热水器，可能还需要另一个加热系统。
  • Cost and lifespan:The $7,000 and up price tag would be for installed panels and basement reservoir. You will still need to factor in your heat distribution system, be that radiators or radiant floor. Estimates of lifespan vary, but most manufacturers say you can expect to get 20 to 25 years from the system.

Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels

Without getting overly technical,Photovoltaic solar panelsessentially convert the sun’s rays into electricity. Systems can be large enough to provide your entire home power needs, and be either stored in batteries or fed back into the power grid.

When you hear the words ‘net metering’, that refers to you feeding your surplus power back into the grid, and taking it out when you need it. What you provide compared to what you consume is calculated and you receive an adjusted bill, or even sweeter, a cheque.

太阳辐射强度最高的时候是正午，这段时间我们大多数人都不在家。而你的消耗最大的时候通常是太阳少的晚上。Net metering removes the need for battery systems in order to benefit from the power you generate.

理想情况下，你的年度消费量将满足你的电池板，甚至超过它，所以查看省级项目的回购计划。在安大略省，如果你有一个朝南的屋顶，你肯定会省钱或赚钱。安大略省购买电力的成本高于市场上每千瓦时的安装成本。

纳米技术的新创新看起来很有前景，它将使电池板明显更小、更薄、更高效、更便宜。

Pros:

  • Clean energy means a cleaner environment.
  • Depending on where you are, you can actually make money by installing solar panels.
  • Greater market share means costs continue to come down at the same time as technological advances make it more efficient.
  • PV solar panels work on cloudy days as well, but less effectively.
  • Government incentives are sometimes available, but that seems prone to change with little notice. Investigate that before you make any decisions.

Cons:

  • PV panels cost more than solar thermal panels, grants and incentives can provide some relief.
  • A pretty sizable roof area is needed, photovoltaic panels can be quite large.
  • 屋顶线条和房屋朝向并不总是容易安装，但它们可以安装在你家里的柱子上。追踪系统也是可行的，但这会让你花很多钱。

Cost and lifespan: Most manufacturers offer in the area of a 20-25 year warranty, but you will likely see longer life than that. Cost depends largely on your area and government incentives. Figure on a good $20,000 at least, but with tax incentives you might see that come down significantly.

PV roof shingles:

Solar roof shinglesare a relatively uncommon photovoltaic panel system, and are much smaller and thinner than conventional PV panels. They are not as efficient as their larger counterparts, and with present designs, power generation capabilities tend to start dropping off after 10 years of so.

Being made with a thinner film of solar cells, solar shingles tend to be less effective in bright sunlight, and actually more effective on overcast days and at dusk and dawn.

Costs for purchase and installation are still quite high for the power they provide, so they aren’t a fierce competitor of conventional photovoltaic panels.

To make this option a little more cost effective, installation isn’t too complicated, just time consuming so you can do a lot of it yourself and save some money.

A hole must be drilled under each panel and a wire fed through, then you get up in your attic to connect all the wires for what could seem an eternity depending on the season.

It may not be a strong force on the market yet, but conceptually it has enormous potential. In the near future as nanotechnology improves efficiency, the idea of marrying roofing and solar power generation makes a lot of sense.

There is a product emerging that is supposed to offer the same power generation as conventional PV panels, and attach directly to the roof trusses, eliminating the need for sheathing and roofing materials.

By replacing sheeting and roof coverings, this potentially offers a net savings on roofing with new home construction before you even plug them in. If the legends are true, this could leave both solar shingles and existing panels in their wake. Stay tuned, more on that later.