Off-Grid House in Kars- SE
The owner of this home and business has been working with renewable energy for more than a decade, and decided to go on his own in 2002, when he registered his business. He incorporated in 2009. The choice to live off-grid was natural given the background of the owner. They built their home in 2001 and installed 750 W of solar PV in order to meet all of their electricity needs (lighting, appliances, instant hot water, etc.). This system meets all of their electricity needs, except for during the darkest months (Dec. to Jan.), when they use a diesel generator as …
Solar Hot Water at Miramichi Youth House- SE
This solar heating system consists of 6 Thermo Dynamics 4×8 feet solar panels using ½” copper tubing with glycol; Solar Boiler™ mini (approximately 2000W). There are 4 Hot water tanks — 2 electric and 2 connected to solar panels. Glycol in the panels preheats cold water by heat exchange which then fills the solar tanks which feeds into the electric tanks. The system is operated by an electric pump. On a sunny day, it will only take 2 hours to fill all the tanks with hot water. The system reduces energy bill 20–30% by offsetting hot water costs. This system …
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 …
400 W Wind Turbine & 360 W Photovoltaic panels at James M. Hill High School in Miramichi- WIND, SE
This system is found on the roof of a local high school. It consists of two solar panels that are 1.2 × 1.2 m (4 × 4′), 180 W each from Shell Oil; one 400 W AIRX LAND wind turbine with a diameter of 116.8 cm (46″). The wind turbine can produce 38 kWh/month at a constant speed of 5.4 m/s (12 mph). It can reach a maximum of 49.2 m/s (110 mph), then shuts off. Both are connected to two VR 12 V Solar Batteries and an inverter inside a classroom with a wall demonstrating all the connections, and also monitors the energy input/output. There is also a camera setup with live feed …
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, …
Solar Thermal Garage in Newcastle- SE
This system is attached to the roof of the owner’s garage and consists of four 4×8 feet panels with copper piping filled with a water/glycol mixture. Cold water enters the bottom of the panel, once heated it leaves through top of the panel. The heated water is pumped into the garage floor where it passes through 5 loops of plastic tubing. The floor acts as a heat sink. Watering pumped into the garage has a temperature of 20–30 °C in the floor and keeps the garage (30 × 40′) at 10 °C (50.0 °F). An electric boiler is attached to the system to increase the …
Solar Hot Water Collectors in Fredericton Firehall- SE
The water heating system was upgraded from an oil burner to a natural gas burner some years ago, and has since had the solar hot water system as a water preheat to the natural gas burner. The installation was fairly quick and easy, and works well. …
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. …
Solar Hot Water for Car Wash in Woodstock- SE
This car wash uses a large volume of hot water for serving roughly 20000 vehicles per year. This large solar thermal system was installed to aid in the production of hot water, and to offset the primary heating source — an oil furnace. …
