Wed. Jul. 20 2005 Solar technology may help reduce hydro shortages
CTV.ca News Staff

With the hot sun pushing electricity bills higher and higher, some consumers are reevaluating the ways that solar technology can bring down costs.

For $2,000, you can purchase a solar panel powered by beer cans strong enough to heat a small house.

"The inventor found that empty Coke and beer cans work the best, so the sun shines on the cans which become incredibly hot," says Michael McGahern, owner of Ottawa Solar Power Store.

McGahern says there are a growing number of affordable products that harness the power of the sun.

For $80, consumers can buy a fold-out panel that generates enough power to charge cell phones and other gadgets. For $1,500, pool owners can get solar-powered black rubber tubes to heat their water, saving thousands in heating costs.

"The sun is free so why not put solar panels on your roof to heat the pool?" says McGahern.

For $2,500 you can set up a cottage with a basic system to handle minimum power needs.

And how much is it to switch over your house to solar power? For a three-bedroom home, it's about $40,000 to set up air-conditioning and heating.

"The nice thing about solar power is the ability to put lighting where you want it without having to run electrical cables," says Rona Home and Garden's Nelson Gallant.

Solar-powered vehicles (SPVs), such as cars, boats, bicycles, and even airplanes are becoming increasingly popular with rising gas prices.

These vehicles use solar energy to either power an electric motor directly, and/or use solar energy to charge a battery, which powers the motor.

They use many solar photovoltaic (PV) cells (or modules made of cells) that change sunlight into electricity.

With files from CTV's Ottawa affiliate, CJOH News project".

Cansolair News February 2005

Solar News from the "Solar City" ! BATHURST.
People in the City of Bathurst, NB can now view the results of a City wide curbside assessment done on over 4200 buildings to identify suitability of their building for installing either a solar hot water or a solar air heating system by viewing the online bathurst solar map and curbside assessment file . Project partners: Bathurst Sustainable Development, EcoAction, City of Bathurst and ecoPerth. Solar grants of 25% off the installed cost of the solar systems are available through the group now as part of the next phase of their solar program called "The Solar City Project".
www.bathurstsustainabledevelopment.com

Cansolair News January 2005

A Newfoundland inventor is bringing his solar-heating panels - which are made using recycled aluminum cans - to New Brunswick and hopes to encourage New Brunswickers to go green and save money on their heating bills. Jim Meaney, president of Cansolair Inc., says his RA 240 Solar Max will heat a typical house all by itself on sunny days no matter how low the mercury dips.

"It wouldn't matter how cold it is outside," he said. "It depends on the clarity of the sky and whether or not there's snow on the unit."

A small company, Cansolair has produced and sold only 100 solar heating panels in the past four years. Now the company is getting more aggressive and pushing into the New Brunswick market with a new distributor in Saint John and a demonstration unit of the RA 240 Solar Max mounted on the outside wall of the farmers market in Bathurst.

Dan Cybulski, whose Saint John-based Dacon Energy Systems will now sell the RA 240 Solar Max throughout New Brunswick, said he expects to sell as many as 100 of the solar panels in 2005 alone.
Mr. Meaney began installing a RA 240 Solar Max system on the farmers market in the downtown core Wednesday. The inventor of this particular solar heating panel was also expected to give a presentation on it Thursday at the Le Chateau hotel in downtown Bathurst.

In a nutshell, the Cansolair system works by letting the sun heat up air inside black aluminum cans behind a transparent lens. As the air heats up, it rises through the unit, passing through angled slots in the cans that move the air and help heat it up more quickly.

When the air inside the RA 240 Solar Max hits about 43.3 degrees Celsius, a fan pushes cold air out of the house and lets the warmer air from the solar panel in. It still takes some electricity to run that fan but there are big savings in energy costs because the sun does most of the work.

"It draws 31 watts of energy but will deliver 1,200 to 2,400 watts of heat energy," said Mr. Meaney. "It's a five to six-year payback depending on the sun you get."
The Cansolair solar panels cost $1,995 but homeowners also have to pay an additional $250 or so for shipping and handling and about $200 for a typical installation. Those costs would usually bring the total cost to homeowners to $2,445 for the solar heating panel with a typical installation.

There are two ways for New Brunswick homeowners to trim that expense. First, there's a bulk-buying discount through Bathurst Sustainable Development, the environmental group that spearheaded the move to get Cansolair to set up a demonstration model at the local farmers' market. And then, there's a federal government renewable energy grant that cuts down the cost of installing the solar panels.
Brenda Kelley, Bathurst Sustainable Development's community development co-ordinator, says the environmental group will help local homeowners fill out the grant application to get this rebate under the Renewable Energy Deployment Initiative. Ms. Kelley said it should take four to six weeks for homeowners to get their grant money once their applications are in.
That pilot program is designed to provide incentives of 25 per cent off the total installation price of a certified and approved solar system for residential properties. We only have 100 grants available. Contact BSD at our contact info below, said Ms. Kelley.

With the bulk-buying discount through the environmental group and rebate of through the federal program, the typical cost of an installed RA 240 Solar Max system would drop by about $611, to $1,834. Cansolair also offers a finder's fee of $50, up to $1,000, for any RA 240 Solar Max owner who refers another customer to the company.

Currently, Mr. Meaney builds these solar panels in his garage. But the inventor turned entrepreneur is expanding. This year, he landed $100,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Northeast Avalon Development Corp. "This is to cover payroll for the next 250 units," he said. "The next phase is for $500,000 or $1 million." With that kind of financial assistance, Mr. Meaney said he would like to move into a bigger production facility and hire up to 50 people. But the fledgling entrepreneur said Cansolair is not quite ready for that just now. His immediate goal is to boost sales by expanding into New Brunswick.