greenspree.ca at The Sietch

How much (useful) energy can you derive from rain falling from your roof? How can you best capture wind energy with many small wind turbines? Are there other options for using solar energy besides PV’s and solar hot water heaters? What are some other small options anyone could use that have cumulative benefits and are easy and cheap to install?

It’s a thought I had the other day when considering energy production for our house in the future. While on the road for my job I passed by an off-grid (even though the grid was 100 feet away) 3000+sf home with solar hot water, solar PV panels and a 100′ tall 3 or 5 KW wind turbine. It was massive and made the property seem very out of place next to smallish 1400-1800sf bungalows all around it. I decided that one large scale device to provide all or nearly all of my energy needs was not a route I wanted to take. I started doing mental calculations and plans to incorporate many small unobtrusive energy production devices into our house and land. We have a hectare so we have some room to play with and it is a former farm field so can plan around future trees, wind rows, etc…

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Recently I began a new career with the Provincial Government of PEI. I had been with the Fire Marshal’s Office as a building inspector and quite enjoyed my job and coworkers. An opportunity came up to become part of the new Office or Energy Efficiency and I jumped at the chance! The position was Energy Programs Officer and the description of the job was:

The purpose of this position is to assist in the development and implementation of energy efficiency programs delivered to Island homeowners and businesses. The Energy Programs Officer will also provide information and advice on appropriate energy efficiency techniques and technologies utilized in the residential and commercial/institutional building sectors.

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The First Air Car to Hit the Market – Associated Content

While I am sure there will be questions about this technology, and the safety behind it, it sure does sound promising! If you can couple this car with green, clean, home energy generation (wind, solar, micro-hydro or perhaps even a small bio-diesel generator!) it would truly be emission free driving! And ranges of 500 miles and 68mph make it a true contender against internal combustion engined vehicles. Prices on average of $8000 don’t hurt either.

It also does away with the need for heavy, toxic and hard to dispose of batteries that are the weak spot on otherwise promising electric vehicles.

I am excited to see what the future brings for these affordable green cars!

Look! a water tank and electrical panel! We had the mechanical and electrical rough-in work started in December. The tiny “utility room” got tinier with the addition of actual equipment.

A look from the utility room into the future kitchen. Note the plumbing and wiring in the ceiling! The bathroom is just above the kitchen and we are going to install a drop ceiling in this area. Also note the exterior steel insulated door leaning up against the wall in the background, this is the back door out to the yard waiting to be installed.

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