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| | | From: Rene (Original Message) | Sent: 11/3/2006 9:32 PM |
"Solar pioneers" Leonard Allan, Susan and Bruce Crofts and Ron McKay tell us how they took the initiative to help power their homes with solar energy:
RISE <http://rise.ourpower.ca/portals/rise/ourpower.aspx> - the organization founded by Ron McKay - a voluntary, community-based project that has brought together a large number of homeowners in Toronto's East-End. Members of RISE are interested in clean-energy grid-tied PV solar systems for their own homes Take a look at a profile of Susan and Bruce Crofts' solar-power-equipped home <http://rise.ourpower.ca/Profiles.aspx?profileid=3> One Day Vancouver <http://www.onedayvancouver.ca/> - a project devoted to taking small steps to reduce energy use, at home and on the road, to make Vancouver the cleanest, greenest, healthiest city in the world Some general info about energy use in homes:
From Natural Resources Canada http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/inter/index_e.html: Today, 17 percent of all energy used in Canada goes toward running our homes. Every time we use energy from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas we produce greenhouse gas emissions. By using less energy in our homes, we help reduce the production of the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change and harm our environment. From The Office of The Auditor General of Canada <http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/domino/oag-bvg.nsf/html/menue.html>: Energy production and consumption account for more than 80 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. And compared with 1990, emissions have risen considerably, largely due to the production and consumption of fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, and coal.
In almost every aspect of their daily lives, Canadians need energy in the form of fuel, electricity, or heat. The national economy also depends on the production of energy, both for domestic use and for export. However, producing and consuming non-renewable energy releases pollutants into our air, water, and soil. Among those pollutants are greenhouse gases, which governments of many countries, including Canada, have formally linked to climate change. From Sierra Club of Canada http://www.sierraclub.ca/: Appliances and lights were responsible for 3 per cent of our personal greenhouse gas emissions in 1990.
Lights, televisions, and stereos all use electricity made in many provinces using coal, fuel oil and natural gas. Even provinces that use water to generate electricity, like Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, use natural gas or coal to make electricity during peak-hour periods.
Do the atmosphere a favour - plan to do your laundry, or run the dishwasher in non-peak-hour periods such as early morning or late evening. Heating water takes a lot of energy - turn off dripping taps and keep them in good repair. Install a low-flow shower head; rent or buy an energy-efficient hot water heater. Solar water heaters can provide between 35 and 75 per cent of your hot water needs; solar water heaters also work well for swimming pools. Water heating was responsible for 7 per cent of personal greenhouse gas emissions in 1990.
A conventional house will generate 9 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, while an efficient R- 2000 home generates only 6.2 tonnes. R-2000 homes are constructed by qualified builders to ensure a high standard of energy efficiency and a more healthy living space (less dust and indoor air pollutants). R-2000 homes will cost 2 to 6 per cent more than a conventional house, but the money is paid back in less than five years because energy bills can be 50 per cent lower than for a conventional house. From: http://www.cbc.ca/gill/episodes/110306.html |
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