Hoping to harness nature : Enmax of Calgary, Canada moves toward solar technology
by Yvonne Jeffery, For the Calgary Herald, May 24, 2008
Source: Calgary Herald
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/lifeathome/
story.html?id=3db264d7-b479-45df-bd78-669346bfb729
A bank of panels is shining on the rooftop of Enmax’s corporate headquarters in Calgary, lighting the way to the not-so-distant future for city homeowners. Imagine living in the heart of the city, generating your own heat and electricity from the sun and feeding electricity to the power grid when you’re producing more than you can use. While a few pioneering souls in Calgary are using solar panels on their homes, Enmax is taking the industry and the city a step toward a distinctly greener future with the launch of its Solar Demonstration Centre.
Seven different solar technologies are being tested there, including solar thermal panels that can be used to create hot water for both heating and domestic hot water. Photovoltaic technology — which produces electricity — is also being tested, through both conventional panels and new “solar” shingles that have the technology incorporated right into the building material.
Based on test results from the centre, Enmax will identify the best solar technology for the Alberta market, to make this energy-efficient offering an easy choice for customers. In fact, the company is hoping to be taking orders for the technology by the end of the year: the concept is that for a monthly leasing cost of $50 to $70, plus an installation fee, you’d be able to take advantage of the technology, and the savings it would produce, in your own home.
“It used to be that this type of equipment was expensive, it wasn’t easy to install, and it wasn’t saving money,” says Peter Hunt, vice-president of public affairs for Enmax. “For most of us, even if we had strong beliefs in the environment, we couldn’t afford it.”
Now, however, the solar technology is improving while the cost is coming down. This is good news, says Hunt, but even better, advances are also being made in metering technology. The next generation of “smart” meters can not only charge different rates for different times of day (in some parts of the country, electricity is already cheaper if you use it during off-peak hours, thus easing the strain on the grid), but they can also measure the electricity flowing in both directions: into and out of the grid.
“If you have excess power that you’re producing, smart meters will enable you to export it to the grid and get a credit on your bill,” says Hunt. He uses the example of a sunny day in Calgary — a not-unusual occurrence, since we average 333 of them a year.
While you’re at work during the day, the sun shining on your home could generate more power than the house would be using. With differential pricing in place, you could export this excess power to the grid at the premium daytime level of pricing for a credit — when you come home in the evening and need to use more electricity than the house is generating, the power you take from the grid would be at a lower, off-peak price.
“That’s how we’re hoping to reach the holy grail, that not only will (the technology) be good for for the environment, but it will save people money, as well,” notes Hunt. “We’re looking at getting regulatory approval for these smart meters and we’re evaluating three technologies for possible use by homeowners. The demonstration centre is one of them, and we’re also looking at domestic-size wind turbines — likely for more rural or institutional use — and natural gas-fired cogeneration units that will produce hot water, plus electricity as a byproduct, (replacing) your whole furnace room in a unit that’s the size and shape of a dishwasher.”
Looking even further into the future, Hunt notes that the next generation of hybrid vehicles will be those that you can plug in at night to recharge the battery — so in the winter, your cogeneration unit could be producing electricity to power your car while it’s heating your home.
The future is closer than you think — for updates as the project evolves, keep an eye on enmax.com.