http://terratek.ca/index.php/news/ en emily@terratek.ca Copyright 2013 2013-05-15T15:41:36+00:00 http://terratek.ca/news/post/news_update_campbell_river_energy_challenge/ http://terratek.ca/news/post/news_update_campbell_river_energy_challenge/#When:15:41:36Z Tough Decision Ahead for Energy Challenge Judges (Originally published on Campbell River Website) Watch the Energy Challenge videos on YouTube After 30 days of conserving energy and sharing their journey with the rest of the community, five Campbell River families have finished BC’s first home energy video challenge. And now comes the tough part as judges decide which family will win the $1,500 grand prize for a home energy retrofit. The Power Down Campbell River home energy video challenge began on April 6 and wrapped up on May 4. The Bellwood-Behan, Klein, Loeb, Millward, and Seldon families fought to lower their energy bills and capture the funniest video footage during their 30-day energy conservation journey. Over the next three weeks, judges from BC Hydro, Shaw TV, 97.3 the Eagle, 99.7 the River and City Green Solutions will review the video footage. They will judge each family’s efforts based on the entertainment value of their video footage and the amount of energy saved. Only one family will win the grand prize of $1,500 towards a home energy retrofit of their choice. “It’s going to be a very tough decision for the judges to pick one winner,” says Amy van den Hooven, the City’s Energy Challenge Coordinator.“Every family has gone above and beyond our expectations. They all drastically lowered their energy consumption and captured very entertaining video footage.” Some project highlights that families completed during the challenge included a homemade solar oven, a bike blender and a solar shower. Families also got the community involved in the Energy Challenge by organizing a community walk and encouraging people to turn their lights off on Earth Day, interviewing Campbell River energy heroes and bringing a neighbourhood together to sing about energy conservation. Each family also lowered their energy consumption by making simple habit changes, like turning lights off, hanging clothes to dry, taking shorter showers and unplugging electric devices not in use. Some participants also completed affordable retrofits to make their homes more energy efficient such as insulating windows and attics and blocking air leaks. “This challenge showed us that we can live comfortably and still save energy,”says Paul Klein, one of the energy challenge participants. “I think that if our family can make changes to save energy, any family can. Read full story here. (Read Terratek's background story on the Family Energy Challenge here.) 2013-05-15T15:41:36+00:00 http://terratek.ca/news/post/may_newsletter_spring_roundup/ http://terratek.ca/news/post/may_newsletter_spring_roundup/#When:15:24:38Z   Welcome to Spring! It's great to see the sun out again, and feel the temperature warming up. We've had a busy few months, recently finishing up several solar electric installations with the Comox Valley Regional District. Read the story here... It's also time to start thinking about the cost-effective and highly efficient option of solar pool heating to make the most of your swim season. As well, we are pleased to announce the designation of Certified Energy Manager to Terratek Principal Scott Fleenor, which means we can offer customers further help with their energy savings. Read our full May newsletter... Grid-tied Power, Off-grid Power, Solar Electric Power, Wind Power, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, Solar Hot Water, Geoexchange, Hybrid and District Systems 2013-05-15T15:24:38+00:00 http://terratek.ca/news/post/new_terratek_service_certified_energy_management/ http://terratek.ca/news/post/new_terratek_service_certified_energy_management/#When:22:18:35Z Terratek is pleased to announce the recent qualification of principal Scott Fleenor as a Certified Energy Manager (CEM). This designation recognizes individuals who have demonstrated high levels of experience, competence and proficiency in the energy management profession.     "It allows us to further help our customers save energy," says Scott. "We can now break down a customer's bill and give them a good orientation of where energy problems exist." Since its inception in 1981, the CEM credential has become widely accepted and used as a measure of professional accomplishment within the energy management field. It has gained industry-wide use as the standard for qualifying energy professionals both in the United States and abroad. It is recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Office of Federal Energy Management Programs (FEMP), and the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as by numerous state energy offices, major utilities, corporations and energy service companies. As a CEM Scott is able to provide homeowners, businesses and municipalities with measurements and recommendations to reduce energy costs through improvements to electricity use, such as air compressors, pumps, fans and lighting, window and insulation upgrades. But the advantages to energy monitoring aren't just about cost savings, they include meeting long-term energy savings goals as well as lowering carbon emissions and reducing carbon footprints. There are just under 200 certified energy managers in BC. Click here for more info. Grid-tied Power, Off-grid Power, Solar Electric Power, Wind Power, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations, Solar Hot Water, Geoexchange, Hybrid and District Systems 2013-05-03T22:18:35+00:00 http://terratek.ca/news/post/tis_the_season_for_solar_pool_heating/ http://terratek.ca/news/post/tis_the_season_for_solar_pool_heating/#When:21:13:21Z Heating an outdoor pool in the summer months can account for as much as 60% of a home’s summer energy bills, making it more expensive to heat a pool in the summer than the house in the winter, according to BC Hydro. Each degree you set your pool’s temperature above 25.5 degrees C will cost 10-30% more in energy bills. This can add up for many recreational pool users who prefer their temperatures a bit warmer than average. Solar pool heating will instantly reduce those heating costs, as well as extend a pool’s season by several weeks and help reduce carbon emissions. Solar energy heating for outdoor pools generally uses unglazed collectors on a seasonal basis. These collectors will raise your pool’s temperature using the heat from the sun anywhere between 60%-100% throughout the season, and often eliminating the need to start the conventional pool heater on clear sunny days. This efficiency allows for a payback period of two to five years. For indoor pools, glazed collectors identical to those found in solar domestic hot water systems are more appropriate. How it works is simple: the unglazed collectors are thin and flat and usually mounted on the roof, facing the sun. The pool water that normally passes through the pool filter is simply diverted to pass through the collectors before it returns to the pool. The collectors, being black, absorb the energy of the sun and transfer it to the pool water that is passing through them - heating the water. The existing pool filter pump is all that is necessary, 99 % of the time, to circulate the water through the solar collectors and return it to the pool. A valve - either manual or electronic - is used to divert the water to or away from the solar collectors. When the solar system is off the water returns directly to the pool. When the system is on, the water travels into the solar collectors before returning to the pool (warmer!).    Solar Hot Water 2013-05-02T21:13:21+00:00 http://terratek.ca/news/post/new_auto_west_group_green_website_features_our_solar_wind_projects/ http://terratek.ca/news/post/new_auto_west_group_green_website_features_our_solar_wind_projects/#When:16:23:57Z The Auto West Group in Richmond, BC has a new green website that features all of their renewable energy initiatives. The dealership has an impressive amount of innovative green design, with geothermal heating and cooling, a roof top apiary to compliment their green roof gardens, two underground tanks collecting storm water runoff for irrigatation use, and a wind turbine and solar photovoltaic system that we installed for them. Read more about their clean energy projects at: www.green.autowestgroup.ca For more information about their MINI Dealership, where we also designed and installed one of the largest solar photovoltaic arrays in the Lower Mainland click here. Grid-tied Power, Solar Electric Power, Wind Power 2013-04-23T16:23:57+00:00 http://terratek.ca/news/post/solar_installs_put_gas_tax_funds_to_good_use_in_the_comox_valley/ http://terratek.ca/news/post/solar_installs_put_gas_tax_funds_to_good_use_in_the_comox_valley/#When:15:37:58Z Four brand new solar photovoltaic systems, also known as solar electric, are soaking up the spring sunshine and lowering energy costs for the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) on Vancouver Island, BC. The installations are part of a rural areas implementation plan for the Comox Valley sustainability strategy, and were fully paid for by the UBCM’s Gas Tax Agreement, which, through the Community Works Fund, provides local governments and other eligible recipients with financial support for a variety of capital and planning projects. “The installations provide a dual benefit," says Michael Zbarsky, CVRD manager of transit and sustainability. "They are reducing electricity consumption as well as showcasing solar electric to the public, and illustrating the benefits of these types of installations." During a significant amount of public consultation, when the CVRD put together the Comox Valley sustainability strategy and regional growth strategy, the clear message from residents was that they wanted the local governments to show leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to Zbarsky, the decision to incorporate renewable energy as a way of meeting that expectation made sense from all angles. “Local governments have access to money and grants allocated for such purposes," he explains, "and often own buildings for a long time and don't have to worry about losing the asset of a renewable energy installation.” As a result, the Oyster River fire hall, Royston water service building, Fanny Bay fire hall and a Comox Valley water service site were all chosen as the best CVRD buildings for incorporating the systems in the rural areas. Solar electric was chosen as a matter of cost-effectiveness, ease of installation and site potential. The buildings did not use enough hot water for solar thermal to make sense and a wind turbine also turned out not to be feasible, as it would have required a height variance, a lengthy and complicated process. While he's received much positive feedback since, several residents were concerned about the return on investment. "Most of them I manage to convince that it's a good idea,” he says. “Like Scott at Terratek says, 'what's the payback of BC Hydro?' With these systems we're pre-buying energy at a fixed cost for the next 30 years." Zbarsky says that he recommends renewable energy installations to other municipalities looking to meet their carbon neutral goals, so long as it makes sense, and says hiring a company like Terratek Energy Solutions to provide site feasibility analysis is a valuable first step. The company also designed and installed the solar systems at all four sites in the CVRD. Zbarsky’s favourite aspect of the systems are that they're all very visible. "Because people can see them, they’re asking questions and talking. It invites conversation and discussion about sustainability topics. It's a lot nicer than energy efficiency upgrades because usually no one sees that, unless you go out and pester people about what you've done. These speak for themselves." Grid-tied Power, Solar Electric Power 2013-04-16T15:37:58+00:00 http://terratek.ca/news/post/pay_no_pst_solar_wind/ http://terratek.ca/news/post/pay_no_pst_solar_wind/#When:21:51:26Z We are happy to announce that as of April 1, 2013, our solar and wind renewable energy systems are now PST exempt with the return from HST to a provincial sales tax system of GST and PST. Under the list of PST exemptions from the provincial government is “energy conservation” personal property which includes: solar hot water, solar photovoltaic and wind electric systems. This means that instead of the 12% HST tax, these renewable energy systems will now be 7% less, with only a 5% GST tax applied. For example, a $6,800 solar hot water system would have included an HST tax of $816. This system will include only $340 in tax, which means a savings of almost $500! Read more on the PST exemptions (page 31). Grid-tied Power, Off-grid Power, Solar Electric Power, Wind Power, Solar Hot Water 2013-04-01T21:51:26+00:00 http://terratek.ca/news/post/history_of_solar_energy/ http://terratek.ca/news/post/history_of_solar_energy/#When:21:57:47Z Check out the great graphic below featuring the groundbreaking pioneers of solar technology, from the first solar oven to the world's first solar thermal power station, built in Egypt by Frank Shuman, in 1913. More fascinating graphics on the history of solar can be found on the Solar Energy Industries Association Pinterest board "History of Solar Energy" here. Read about American Engineer Russell Ohl's first modern solar cell patent, the first solar panel installation on a rural Georgia phone pole in 1955 and more! Grid-tied Power, Solar Electric Power, Solar Hot Water 2013-03-22T21:57:47+00:00 http://terratek.ca/news/post/wind_electric_how_to_determine_site_feasibility/ http://terratek.ca/news/post/wind_electric_how_to_determine_site_feasibility/#When:17:41:12Z While a wind electric system can be a very efficient renewable energy system it's also very site specific, with a number of requirements that need to be met in order for a site location to be feasible. Often times, we think it's windier than it is and to make the most of a wind system sustained winds of 30-40 km/h are ideal. Generally, rural and remote areas are more suitable than urban environments. Best sites are homes on a hill, or near an ocean, with full south-east exposure to big, northwest winds and sheltered from trees, mountains or structures and other obstructions. A rule of thumb is that the wind system should be at least 20 feet taller than obstacles located within 200 feet of the tower. How can you tell if you have a good wind at your location? There are a couple of ways. For the more serious wind enthusiasts we suggest purchasing an anemometer, which is a common weather station instrument used to measure wind speeds. They can usually be found at sailing or boating shops. Anemometers will measure the amount of wind on site, over a period of time. You can get a general idea of a site feasibility without an anemometer, by generating a turbine formula through the Canadian Wind Energy Atlas, and filling it out using turbine data from a manufacturer (a list of manufacturers can be found on the Canadian Wind Energy Association's website at: www.smallwindenergy.ca).    In the "maps" section on the Canadian Wind Energy Atlas website, select "mean wind speed" and "30m," for residential installs, and then select your location tile, entering in your latitude and longitude specific postal code, to generate a turbine formula. By filling out the formula with the max power, cut speed and rated speed data available from a wind turbine manufacturers' performance spreadsheet, you can determine the estimated energy output of a wind system for your location. In this example those numbers would be "5", "3" and "12" respectively. Start-Up/Cut-In Speed: The wind speed at which a wind turbine will actually start to produce power. Wind speeds are often measured in meters per second, or m/s, and a good quality turbine should have a cut-in speed of around 3 m/s, or 3.6 kilometers an hour. Rated Speed: Wind speed at which a wind turbine will produce its published amount of power. See “Average Power vs. Wind Speed” image below. Most turbines are approximately 10 to 12 m/s, or 35 to 40 km/hr. Once this data is entered, a report for that location will provide annual energy output for a wind system at that site, and "use rate," or percentage of full potential of a solar wind turbine. According to the report generated for our example, below, the average annual energy output for a 5 kW turbine, would produce 12.01 megawatt hours a year. One megawatt hour is a 1000 kilowatts used or delivered in an hour, so this turbine would provide 12,010 kilowatt hours, or kWhs a year in ideal wind conditions. To check the amount of kWhs your home uses a year, check the monthly kWh average on your BC Hydro bill and calculate it over 12 months. * The estimates generated from this formula may be higher than in reality, as they will not take into consideration various obstacles around the location. An anenometer will produce more accurate results.  Wind Power 2013-03-20T17:41:12+00:00 http://terratek.ca/news/post/solar_did_you_know/ http://terratek.ca/news/post/solar_did_you_know/#When:16:09:40Z While solar PV in canada has been on the rise from 2008-2011 according to a Renewable Energy Investment: Canada report by Ernst & Young in 2011, our country is ranked 12th in the global PV market (tied with Slovakia) at 500 MG. This is significanly behind world leaders like Germany and the U.S. The top ten are: Germany: 24,700 Italy: 12,500 Japan: 4,700 Spain: 4,200 US: 4,200 China: 2,900 France: 2,500 Belgium: 1,500 Australia: 1,200 UK: 750 To read the full report, click here. We have some work to do! According to the Solar Income Fund, subsidies to the Canadian Energy Industry for fossil fuels in 2011 was $3.25 billion, compared to $148 million for renewable energy. Yet for every unit of energy produced solar produces 15 x more jobs than than natural gas or coal, while jobs created by natural gas or coal cost 6 x more than jobs created by solar. Meanwhile, the cost of PV has decreased dramatically over the last five years, due to global demand for the technology. Prices have dropped from $12 a watt to just under $5 per watt. The cost per watt has decreased by 7% every year since 1980. In addition to being identified as one of the world's leading emitters of greenhouse gases, Canada is missing out on an opportunity to invest in solar and create skilled jobs, economic growth and Made in Canada Energy. Grid-tied Power, Solar Electric Power, Solar Hot Water 2013-03-12T16:09:40+00:00