The owner has chosen to use a combined set up of different systems to help lower her electricity costs and test renewable energy.
The system includes:
- electricity generation from the wind turbine,
- solar hot air space heating, and
- solar hot water heating.
The owner was interested to see how renewable energy systems work, and so far she is pleased. Originally, she planned to keep her system for awhile before she considered upgrading. Nature had other plans.
The owner’s first wind turbine, the Skystream 3.7, was net metered with NB Power. It worked well because it was sized for the home, and only one resident. The turbine was installed by Independent Power Systems. Please refer to Hiring a Contractor, because IPS is no longer exists.
However, since installing the first turbine in 2007, the owner has installed a new wind turbine, because the turbine blades on the Skystream 3.7 broke during a storm.
Luckily the owner purchased out-of-structure house insurance that covered the cost of replacing the wind turbine. The owner believes the replacement cost, $16200, was a bargain, and would probably cost more than $20000 to replace today. It helped to already have four 1.5-m (5′) concrete-filled holes to anchor the turbine.
The installer waited for a calm day to install the new wind turbine, a 3.5 kW Raum. When the installer was finished, the owner heard a clonking noise, and informed the installer that the blades may be hitting the pole. Before long a blade broke and flew off. The installer ordered a new package of blades and replaced it free of charge, because the pole is fairly easy to lower, which makes it easy to fix the turbine.
The owner made sure the installation was to code by having a local electrician, Robyn Ward, do all the wiring. The installer ensured all the necessary permit applications were made, with the help of Lynda Bergelot at NB Power since it is a net metered site. The owner remarked that the net meter took only minutes to install, and she was only able to get a permit because the land is classified as agricultural. The local town council passed a by-law restricting wind use on some land types. In addition, when the owner had solar hot water installed, NB Power did not allow connection to their rented hot water tanks.
To learn more about the owner’s solar hot air space heating and solar hot water heating systems, click on the link below.
