1 kW & 400 W Wind Turbines in Little Aldouane- WIND
The owner is a retired mechanic with technical skills and interest in alternate energy. He does this as a hobby and does not keep track of costs, which he says are high. He does his own fabrication work and repairs to his systems. Energy generated is used for emergency power to light and heat his greenhouse (which happens rarely) and his house. Day-to-day it is used to light his shed where the storage batteries and inverter are kept. He finds it hard to find expert advice even among so-called experts and had to learn almost everything on his own. However …
Solar Hot Air in Miramichi- SE
The previous CEO of Southside Air has installed on the side of his home (1500 ft²) a Model RA 240 Solar Max by CanSolar, 44 × 88.5 panel, concaved so 8.5″ thick in center and 4″ thick at ends. Uses 31 Watts to operate system but creates an energy output of 1200–2400 Watts. This system works by solar air conduction, heated air within the solar panel is blown into the house basement which has a concrete floor, and this heat then rises to heat house. No cooling application to this system therefore it is not used during April to August. Energy savings is …
Heat Exchange Solar Boiler in Newcastle- SE
This system was installed on the side of the owner’s house while building a new home, consisting of 2 solar panels with a photovoltaic cell; tubular, black glazed glass, filled with food grade glycol 40%, 60% water, (enough for a 4–5 person home). System is sensor driven, once the photovoltaic cell is activate it sends a message to the electric motor with pump, and by convection it heats the water in first tank. Once heated, the hot water fills into second tank which is also connected to city grid as a backup. When both tanks are filled with hot water, …
Air and Water Heat Pumps in Fredericton- GT, PS
An air-to-air heat pump (with electric element backup) was installed as part of the construction of this new home, in 2008. The owner proceeded to add a backup by using a water to refrigerant heat exchanger to improve the efficiency of the system. The addition draws water from their deep well, runs it through the heat pump and dumps the water into a shallow well, so as to recharge the aquifer, creating an open loop system. The water to refrigerant addition takes over for the air-to-air component when the temperature dips below 0 °C (32.0 °F). This temperature will be slowly raised, …
1.2 kW Photovoltaic System in Charter’s Settlement- SE
The owner’s experience with the system has been very positive. He installed the system himself with no problems, intending to have an off-grid office. The batteries were received from Eastern Battery Systems on sale. 12V lighting was installed as part of the system, while the rest runs off of a small (300 watt) pure sine wave inverter which runs a computer, printer, and other office appliances. A wood stove certified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency is used for heating. …
Solar Hot Water in Fredericton- SE
The system was installed in 1992, and has had several issues over its lifetime. In 1996, plastic piping (connecting the collectors with the heat exchanger) was replaced with ⅜″ copper piping, which is better able to withstand high temperatures. The pump was replaced in 1999, as it had worn out. Shortly after that, the glass on one of the collectors collapsed, which effectively shut down the system. It has not been fixed since. The owner hopes to have the system up and running soon, because when it did work, it seemed to work well. …
Passive Solar Home in Bristol- PS
This new, passive solar home is built with a South-Southwest orientation, which is best for collecting heat and light from the sun. This home has large, efficient windows (double pane, low e) gathering heat all day, which is trapped by this highly efficient house (lots of insulation and tight building envelope). This makes the home very comfortable, with it being hot inside on days of −30 °C (−22 °F) or lower. On cold days with no sun, a wood pellet stove provides backup heating. …
Passive Solar & Masonry Heater in Bocabec- BE, PS
A number of features have been added to the house to make it more efficient, such as the use of strapping (to reduce thermal bridging), putting insulation on the exterior of the concrete foundation (so as to maximize thermal mass), and lots of insulation in the walls and ceiling. The house is also somewhat submerged in a hill, so as to provide extra protection from the elements. Local materials were used for constructing the house, such as local harvested trees cut at a local, water powered mill. Bricks for the masonry heater came from Lewiston, Maine, the closest source for …
Vegetable Oil Furnace in St. Andrews- BE
As a source of heat to meet requirements during the colder months, a furnace was installed which runs on waste vegetable oil. The owner had previous experience using veggie oil, as he has run his diesel vehicles on waste veggie oil for many years. The furnace is very efficient (90% +) and works well using the veggie oil. To view this home’s other feature, please visit the following link: Passive Solar, St. Andrews …
Passive Solar in St. Andrews- PS
A number of features have been added to the house to make it more efficient, such as the use of strapping (to reduce thermal bridging), insulating foil as a vapour barrier, and lots of insulation in the walls and ceiling. Local materials were used for constructing the house, and no trees were cut down in order to accommodate its construction. …
