A gas-powered home is one of the star attractions on this year’s Eco Solar Home Tour.
City residents will have a chance to tour five energy efficient homes today in Edmonton as part of the annual Eco Solar Home Tour, says organizer Gordon Howell. “These houses are pushing the envelope and we want people to know how big the envelope is now.”
New to the tour is the Pearson-Maraj Eco-Duplex, a high-efficiency Edmonton home that’s one of the first on the continent to have a combined heat-and-power system.
Solar power, biofuels and other technologies could all solve the world’s environmental problems, says duplex owner Vik Maraj, but they’re also still in development. “While these technologies get more perfected, available and cheap, the world’s still on fire.”
His approach is to make better use of current technology and resources — specifically natural gas. His home is super-insulated and has in-floor heating, all powered by a Japanese natural gas generator.
“It’s a box that’s no louder than a fan,” Maraj says of the system. Instead of burning gas for heat and coal for power, the generator uses gas for both. Waste heat from power production is stored in big water tanks that heat the house, while extra power is sold to the electricity grid.
“Our strategy of combined heat-and-power allows us to increase the efficient use of natural gas by up to 200 per cent,” he says. “That immediately takes 20 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions off of our contribution.”
It also means a small gas bill and even smaller power bill. The system cost about $37,000, Maraj says, and should pay for itself in six years. The Derrick Golf and Winter Club and the AUMA building in Edmonton now have similar systems.
It’s something anyone renovating or building a new home should consider, he says. “This is the only [technology] that everyone has at their fingertips.”
Efficiency doesn’t have to be complex, says Howell, who works with renewable power systems. The Belgravia Net-Zero Home (another new addition to the tour) gets 60 per cent of its heat from south-facing windows, for example and saves plenty of money through simple insulation. These and other efficiency measures added about $5,000 to the cost of the home.
About 500 people usually attend the tour, Howell says, which has become more popular every year. “People are now ready for all this.”
The open houses run from noon to 4 p.m. today. For directions, visit www.ecosolar.ca.
Three St. Albert and Morinville students took over Alberta Environment this week as part of the annual Minister for a Day contest.
Nadiya Shore, Michelle Brett, and Jacob Steele were three of the 12 Grade 5 students who got to spend a day in Environment Minister Rob Renner’s shoes Thursday as winners of the annual contest. As part of their ministerial duties, the students toured the legislature, visited the Edmonton Waste Management Centre and grilled Renner on environmental policy.
About 950 students entered this year’s contest, according to the province, which asks students to share their thoughts on the province’s environmental priorities.
Shore, who attends St. Albert’s Ă©cole Father Jan, says she became interested in the environment through her love of science. “I started realizing how important it was for us and what can happen if we don’t help it.”
Brett says she enjoys learning about the environment and is an active member of the environment club at Muriel Martin School in St. Albert.
“I’d like corporations to use less packaging on toys and items,” Brett says, when asked for a policy suggestion. The province’s recent deal to reduce plastic bag use (signed the previous day) was a good start, as it would encourage people to use reusable bags.
Steele agreed. “At Christmas, we had two full garbage bags from [toy packaging] and we had only five toys each.” A student at Georges P. Vanier Elementary, he says he often helps organize community trash pick-ups in Morinville. “With all the pollution we have now, if we continue this, future generations are going to have a very horrible world.”
Each urged Albertans to do whatever they could to clean up the world around them. “When someone’s bored and has nothing to do, why not go out and pick up some garbage?” suggests Shore.
The Minister for a Day program started in 2000.
