Offshore Wind Turbines Save Lives

Posted on August 22nd, 2010 by Bruce

Offshore Wind Turbines Save Lives

The States bordering the Great Lakes, and Ontario, are putting the processes in place that will allow offshore development of wind farms. And the NIMBY cry can be heard all along the shoreline – you can’t ruin my perfect view of the evening sunsets!

Elitist cottage owners ( I say elitist as the price of a cottage on the water, keeps them out of the hands of the ordinary citizen), are mostly demanding that wind turbines not be allowed in front of their cottages, though there may be a small few who are only asking that they be placed many miles out.

Adding renewable forms of electrical generation allows for the replacement of coal-fired generating plants. It has been argued all year long, that Ontario can already shut down all of their coal-fired plants, due to the increased generating capacity that has recently been added to the grid.

Thousands of people will die prematurely this year, due to the smog that’s produced by coal-fired generating plants. In 2000, the Ontario Medical Association predicted 1,900 premature deaths due to smog. In 2005 they revised the number to 5,800. In 2008 the OMA released their new estimates of 9,500 and detailed the numbers by county!

Offshore Wind Turbines SAVE LIVES. Don’t tell me it’s more important to save your view of the sunset than save thousands of lives per year.

Homemade Micro Hydro Generator

Posted on July 8th, 2010 by Bruce

A friend tested their homemade micro hydro generator this weekend, and everything worked according to plan. You can see the system in this YouTube video:

Homemade Micro Hydro Generator

He recorded 46VDC (open circuit voltage) and 2.6 amps at 12 volts when connected to a deep cycle battery. It charged a battery from 12.1 to 13.7vdc overnight. “We will tweak it to see if we can get 5 amps which may be the max for the PMM I am using”.

At 2.6 amps and 12 volts he is producing 750 watts per day, everyday and of course, about double that amount if he can get the output up to 5 amps with a bit of tweaking.

This system is setup at a family off-grid cabin and the output is all they need to run the cabin lights, stereo, etc.

Will see if we can talk Doug into creating another video to show the workings of his homemade turbine….

Solar PV – Too Much of a Good Thing for Ontario

Posted on July 4th, 2010 by Bruce

Solar PV – Too Much of a Good Thing for Ontario

In October 2009 the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) began accepting applications for their newly announce Feed-in Tariff (FiT). Within 2 months they had received 2,400 applications, and released their first 700 contract offers. Now, nine months later, the OPA has received over 14,000 applications and is well on it’s way to reaching the 100,000 rooftops as set out in it’s initial news release. Another major objective of this program is job creation. We would expect the OPA to take up on this objective and hire more people to process the requests! Though prior to start of the program, they stated that requests would be processed within 30 days, they have now officially admitted that it’s taking 90 days to process a request.

But hold on a second. Seems the OPA feels this is just too much of a good thing. On July 2nd they announced their intention to reduce the feed-in tariff rate for small ground based solar systems from 80.2 cents per kWh, down to 58.8 cents per kWh. Makes you wonder how they will ever get to their objective of solar PV on 100,000 rooftops???

Solar Panel Installation

Posted on March 28th, 2010 by Bruce

Solar Panel Installation

Here are the steps we took to install my 3.6kW solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop system, with pictures.

Overview of Solar PV System

3.6kW – 18 200 watt solar panels
rooftop racking system
combiner box with DC fuses
SMA Sunny Boy 4kW Grid-tie Inverter
Electrical meter faceplate and cutoff switch
MC-4 cables and conduit, grounding cables

Solar Racking Installation

use chalk line, marked rooftop per layout of racking.
10 panels arranged in rows of 9, 6 and 3
located rafters and drilled holes for anchor bolts
chalked roof flange and hole and inserted anchor bolts with connector for racking
completed installation of all racking, two rows of rails per row of solar panels

Solar Panel Installation

fixed grounding clips to all solar panels
installed end solar panel with cables to the top
tightened end clamps per manufactures instructions
added mid-clamps, then second solar panel, with cables to top
continue to add all solar panels in first row.
second row added, same as first row
top row of 3 panels added with cable to bottom, to allow the second and third string of panels to be interconnected
my system uses 2 strings of 9 panels. Thus each panel connects to the next, in a series: + to -.
all solar panels are connected to ground and each rack is also grounded
both series circuits and the grounding is inserted into conduit and run to the inside of my garage

Balance of System

(completed by electrician)
each series string of solar panels is connected to it’s own 600 volt DC fuse.
both strings are joined in parallel and connected to the SMA AC/DC Disconnect
Disconnect is wired into the grid-tie inverter.
Disconnect is wired to the external manual disconnect switch
Manual disconnect is wired to new electrical meter

Balance of System

Once the electrical inspection is complete, my local distribution company connects the new meter faceplate to the grid and installs the new electrical meter. This is just a quick high level overview of my installation. Know your limits, the local laws and restrictions and use professional help as needed.

More info: Solar Panels

Make Earth Hour Every Hour

Posted on March 27th, 2010 by Bruce

Making Every Hour Earth Hour

From Earth Hour Site

Turning off lights on March 27 is great, but we can all make a difference for the environment 365 days a year!

Here are 10 easy ways you can start:

1. Leave the car at home. If you have an errand to run close by or need to take the kids to school, consider walking instead of driving. You’ll get more exercise and help the environment by reducing your carbon footprint. If walking is not an option, take public transit. Driving just 10 per cent less will save almost 600 kilograms in CO2 emissions over a year.

2. Eat local. In Canada, almost 60 per cent of our food is imported and the average food product travels 2,000 km before it reaches your plate so next time you buy look for food grown close to home. It will be fresher and save harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

3. Fly less. The next time you plan a trip, save the emissions associated with flying and have a fun, local vacation. Canada is a huge tourist destination so enjoy the nature and attractions right here at home. Cutting out just one overseas flight this year can save 2,600 kilograms of CO2 emissions.

4. Be energy efficient. If you are buying a new appliance look for one with a high energy efficiency or retire the beer fridge. Refrigerators are one of the top energy guzzling appliances in the home. Updating your old model will save you about $120 a year on your energy bill and prevent about 240 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions.

5. Use Green Power: Fossil-fuel powered facilities are a leading industrial source of carbon dioxide, one of the primary greenhouse gases linked to causing climate change. To get off dirty power, research if there are green energy providers in your area. These are companies that provide your home with power generated from renewable energy sources such as wind or low-impact water power. It may cost a little extra to switch but the benefit to our planet makes it worth it.

6. Get a Home Energy Audit – and act on it! Chances are your home is wasting a lot of energy and a lot of money. A Home Energy Audit shows you how your home uses energy and where it is leaking. It identifies improvements you can make to your home’s heating, cooling, hot water heating and other energy uses. Making those improvements could result in hundreds of dollars in energy savings each year – not too mention a large reduction in your carbon footprint. Plus, many of the energy-saving upgrades will qualify for up to $5,000 in rebates from Natural Resources Canada. Find out more at our Living Planet Community.

7. Hang Dry Your Clothes: Instead of using your energy-guzzling dryer, hang up your clothes to dry either outside in warm weather, or in your laundry room or basement in the winter and on rainy days. If you’re worried about wrinkles you can throw them in the dryer for 5 minutes and then hang dry them the rest of the way. This energy-saving tip could save you about 200 kg of carbon dioxide and will reduce your energy bill.

8. Work From Home: Discuss with your boss if it’s a possibility to work from home for part of the week. It saves on your commute time, keeps roads less congested and you can work in your pajamas.

9. Unplug Unused Appliances: All electrical devices draw energy even when not switched on. Take the easy step of unplugging things when they’re not in use or use a power bar which can be easily turned on and off with the flick of a switch.

10. Tell Your Local Official: Write a letter or email outlining your concern for the environment to your local elected official. Encourage your network to do the same. After all, individual actions do add up to make a big difference. It sends a signal of concern to politicians and governments about the state of the planet and your commitment to help fight climate change.

11. Bonus tip: If you’re already taking any of these actions, become a role model by signing up for Earth Hour and showing Canadians what actions you are already taking. Join the movement at www.EarthHourCanada.org.

Samsung and Ontario to Announce Solar and Wind Deal

Posted on January 20th, 2010 by Bruce

Samsung and Ontario to Announce Solar and Wind Deal

The Premier of Ontario is set to announce a multibillion dollar deal to a consortium led by Samsung Group to build renewable energy equipment including wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels.

The deal, which could be worth up to C$7 billion, will be unveiled on Thursday January 27th at 10:45 am, according to the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail and several additional news services.

We believe the deal includes four new factories and also allows Samsung to develop 600 megawatts of wind and solar farms in Ontario. The Ontario government hopes this deal will generate 15,000 new jobs and help meet its target of 50,000 new jobs created over three years through its Green Energy Act.

Solar Feed-in Tariff rates per Ontario Solar Farms, are:

Feed-In Tariff Prices for Renewable Energy Projects in Ontario
Technology	Size	Proposed ¢/kWh
Solar PV
Rooftop or Ground Mounted	≤ 10 kW	80.2
Rooftop	10 – 250 kW	71.3
Rooftop	250 – 500 kW	63.5
Rooftop	> 500 kW	53.9
Ground Mounted	≤ 10 MW	44.3

DIY Solar Water Heater

Posted on January 19th, 2010 by Bruce

DIY Solar Water Heater

DIY solar projects including solar ovens, solar pool heaters, solar PV panels, solar air heaters and batch solar water heaters are fairly simple projects to complete on your own. We recently came across another solar water heater, non-batch, that we like. This project is a bit more involved and will require caution when working with the old fluorescent tubes, as they contain a hazardous material (mercury). Still, Jake Teaters, the person who has built this system, has achieved some impressive results.

Solar Water Heaters

Grow Fresh Air with Houseplants

Posted on January 12th, 2010 by Bruce

Grow Your Fresh Air With Houseplants

As we made are homes and workplaces more energy efficient and air tight, the quality of indoor air greatly decreased. Use these houseplants to remove indoor air toxins. Plants are ordered by their ability to remove chemical toxins, how easy they are to grow and their resistance to pests.

Areca Palm …. semi-sun …. loam soil