He is using 10 – 205Watt Kyocera panels that total just over 2000Watt, the photovoltaic panels are tied to a 4,000W Solectra grid tie inverter. The array produces at most 20 KWh daily. The inverter automatically shuts off when the main electrical grid is down so that workers can safely repair the electrical grid.The owner plans to add another 10 photovoltaic panels to increase his energy production.

Solar Panels

Backview

Coastal Inn Dieppe - Solar Hot Water

Hotel also uses compact florescent lightbulbs (CFL) exclusively, replaced air conditioners (A/C) with more efficient heat pumps which help save energy during the shoulder seasons especially.

No regular maintenance required, only the owner monitors the collector fluid temperature on very hot summer days.

This environmentally friendly 4 Green Key Eco Rated hotel is reducing its carbon footprint by providing solar heated hot water.  Solar energy is absorbed by twelve flat plate solar hot water collectors bolted to the roof. The collectors are located on the south-western facing side. During the interview the temperature outside was -4.5° C (23 F). The fluid inside the collectors was 73 ° C (163 F). The fluid used is a food-grade glycol because it will not freeze and crack tubes. Glycol is non-toxic in low doses. In addition, glycol doesn’t physical mix with potable water. Heat from the glycol is transferred to potable water through a heat exchanger. The system has a 20 year. warranty. The owner believes the system will pay for itself before the warranty expires.

Storage Tanks

Solar Hot Water Pump

Solar Hot Water Gauges

http://www.cagbc.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Programs/LEED/Certificationprocess/default.htm

Geothermal has six zones in building.

This installation will have very high capital cost due to the LEED standards but will have lower energy cost in the near future.

Rexton Medical Clinic

Geothermal Pump

Geothermal Pump

Put simply, the EcoPlusHome is the most energy efficient home on record with Efficiency NB’s New Homes Program. The home was built this year in Bathurst through the collaboration and partnership of a number of companies who were brought together by Axel Lerche of marketing firm Tight Lines Production Ltd.

The goal with the EcoPlusHome was to create a smart home environment in which the occupants did not rely on fossil fuels for electricity and heating needs. The home was designed as a complete system which began with site selection and orientation, incorporated supreme energy efficient systems and materials, a sophisticated technology component, as well as a well built modular home.

The project involved 15 partners, all recruited by Lerche to contribute toward the home’s completion. The German company Bosch Thermotechnology combined and integrated a solar thermal system for the home’s hot water needs, photovoltaic panels to generate electricity and a heat recovery ventilation system with a geothermal heat pump to provide heating and cooling for the extreme winter and summer temperatures possible in Bathurst. These systems work together to provide all the energy required for the home’s operation and for its occupants. When this is achieved the home can be referred to as a Net –zero home.

The modular home was built by Maple Leaf Homes with guidance from Efficiency NB and placed on an insulated concrete form (ICF) foundation provided by Bird Stairs of Fredericton. It has very high levels of insulation and air sealing in the walls, attic, basement and floor headers, as well as energy efficient windows and doors.

The project is now complete and will, for the next year, serve as the home to a local Bathurst family. Bryan Kenny, his wife and four children will live in the net-zero home and write about their experience on the website ecoplushome.com.

The EcoPlusHome web site will also offer educational opportunities for consumers actively considering the possibilities of environmental housing. The site acts as one location to ask experts for advice, talk to others about their experiences and learn about the ever-evolving field of environmental construction.

“The goal was not to build a house, but to create a community of consumers wanting to make a difference,” concludes Lerche. “Our goal is to save the planet one house at a time. This is a journey into the future of home construction and everyone is invited to come along.”

Efficiency NB chose the EcoPlusHome as the award recipient for the New Homes category because it achieved an EnerGuide rating of 96, unprecedented in New Brunswick.

Source:  Efficiency NB: http://0101.nccdn.net/1_5/055/38a/15b/project_res_new_ecoplushome_en.pdf

Website:  WWW. ECOPLUSHOME.COM

EcoPlus2010

Boosch Appliances

Though it gets too hot in the late summer at times, which is why they have added curtains to some of the south facing windows, they find it very comfortable the rest of the year. They have put their bedroom in the basement, which is comfortable year round. They also have large, leafy trees on the south and east sides of the house, which provides shade and cooling in the summer.

The electric forced air heat, supplemented by the passive solar, was providing space heating, but the owners found that it was becoming expensive. They bought a pellet stove in August of 2008, and have used it for the past two winters. They find that the stove has greatly reduced their electric heating costs (up to $350/month), and find that it provides a comfortable heat.

Were they to install the system again from scratch, the owners would probably opt for in-floor radiant hydronic heating instead of forced air. Their current system, which collects heat from warm well water by blowing air over a coil, wherein the well water is circulating before being discharged into another well, and then blowing the warmed air throughout ductwork in the home, is called a water-to-air heat pump. From experience, the owners believe they could maintain a lower temperature but more constant heat, if they installed in-floor radiant heating, which would be considered a water-to-water heat pump. There would then be no need for fans. The current system requires circulation for fresh air, so the owners installed a variable speed fan, which is quieter, and more energy efficient.

The homeowners would prefer water-to-water in-floor heating regardless of the fact that water-to-water heat pumps do not provide air conditioning like air-to-air or water-to-air heat pumps, because they are in a windy location, and let the breeze ventilate and cool their home naturally by opening some windows on hot sunny days. Having a pool helps cool off in the summer as well, and they are also considering installing a wind turbine in the future to harness the renewable energy of the wind.

In colder weather, the homeowners heat their pool with heat from their geothermal heat pump. Their first heat pump lasted almost 25 years before its iron water jacket, which is used to transfer heat to the pool, rusted from exposure to chlorine. When that occurred, the owners decided it was easier to replace the entire pump instead of retrofitting the old pump with a new rust-resistant titanium water jacket.

In addition to collecting earth energy, the owners of this home use an advanced wood burning fireplace insert to heat their home with wood. When correctly installed, fireplace inserts are nearly as efficient as new wood stoves, which are designed to burn wood far more efficiently with up to 90% fewer emissions than old stoves.