Passive Solar Home with Masonry Heater in French Lake- BE, PS
This passive solar, 232 m2 (2500 sq. ft.) home is located on a scenic, south facing slope. It is located on 2.0 hectares (5 acres) of waterfront property, facing the Saint John River and a lake. The home has lots of natural light, with each room receiving direct natural light at some point in the year. 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 …
Finnish Masonry Heater in St. Andrews- BE
Built in 2000, this home was constructed with comfort and efficiency in mind. The home is well insulated, has an in-floor heating system (heated by instant hot water) as the primary heating source, and sourced local and recycled wood for the construction. It has cork and finished concrete in the basement as well. …
Solar Hot Water in Rothesay- SE
This former cornerstore/butcher shop on Rothesay Road is being renovated, with the top floor being used as living space for two apartments, with 4 tenants in total. As part of their renovations, the owners and construction company decided to install a solar hot water system, so as to be green and to kick it up a notch. …
Passive Solar Home with Geothermal Heat Pump in Kingston Peninsula- PS, GT
The owners wanted to build a home that would have low long-term costs, be comfortable, and modern. They decided to build a passive solar home because it met these criteria. They find the home to be very comfortable, and are happy with their choice. They also chose very energy efficient appliances, and used recycled or very durable materials where they could. For instance, they used HardiePlank siding on their building exterior, as it is very durable and shouldn’t have to be replaced as long as the owners occupy the building. …
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 …
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, …
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. …
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 …
