Solar PV space in Ottawa

The race for capturing a slice of residential and commercial PV rooftop business is definitely heating up.
Solar PV OEMs and major players in renewables are spreading their networks and establishing new offices throughout Ontario, Ottawa not being an exception. New companies in the PV space are popping up like mushrooms after the rain.

In the recent days I have attended two shows to get a taste of the competitive landscape and talk to some of the folks on both ends of the spectrum. One show was the Go Green Ottawa, the second was the Spring Home show. Both were hosted at the Lansdowne Park. What I saw was an emergence of new, somewhat immature industry, where people are feeling their way through the darkness, not articulating the value proposition correctly, basically learning on the job. I haven’t seen this much energy in a long time, which is both exciting and somewhat disconcerting at the same time.

First, I applaud Ontario government for adopting the lessons learned internationally and implementing one of the most generous FIT (Feed-in Tariff) programs going in global PV field. In my mind it is no brainer to learn from something that works in other countries that implemented it, but for the Canadian government to take such a decisive action in times of crisis. For change, it shows a refreshing sign of leadership.

I’m not going to get into details of FIT and micro-FIT programs, you can find enough data about the programs on OPA web site http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/

Over the next several months, I believe you will see materialization of a number of trends. Some will generate exciting success stories, some will have more negative tone. The up and downs are what makes watching this relatively new industry so fascinating.

On one side you will see new people getting involved alongside the established firms in harnessing the power of sun. It is the right thing to do in terms of sustainability as the sun is the only resource that drives all other sources of energy and life on our blue planet. It is the right thing to do and now can be economically very attractive. You will see more financial institutions jumping on the bandwagon and making pacts with installers which is a great news for the consumers as the finances are need to make projects happen. Capital costs of the projects is where I see a weakness in the current offering. The OEMs and installers are not articulating the value proposition correctly to the clients. They are pushing technology rather than sustainable, economic solution that is guaranteed for 20 years by government of Ontario. This type of agreement is hard to argue with if you are in finance, unfortunately it is a bit of a bottle neck at this time as it is a brand new trend to follow for financiers. It will get sorted out over time and more strategic relationships will get formed between OEMs, installers and finance.

The excitement needs to be balanced with responsibility to deliver a quality product. This may be a problem as I see people applying at high rate, but there is only a handful of qualified professionals to actually manage the projects, design and do execute the job.

Not too long ago there was only a handful of firms in the Ottawa’s PV space based more on the belief of doing the right thing rather than very sound economic models. I’m not knocking them down, quite the contrary. It takes guts to start a business you know is ahead of adaptation curve as your target market is very small. I hope all these folks that started early and have so much vested in the business will be successful, able to leverage their experience in the field.

You have heard many times saying: “the devil is in the details”. This is especially true for the PV projects as there is a great number of consideration, variables and distinct lack of experience I already mentioned.

You are crazy if you don’t do a correct assessment as the first thing. You need to consider your roof orientation, pitch, elevation, shading and factor in local insolation to start with. What is even more important is assessment of structurally sound your roof is and correctly estimate the time left before the roof needs to undergo a maintenance. Last thing you want is for the roof to collapse or get ripped apart by weight of the system, accumulated snow weight or wind load where your panels act as sails, thus stressing your roof structure. You also want to avoid removing your panels and fastening system to redo your shingle or membrane roofing systems.
I heard the first horror stories about installers using incorrect fastening systems. This goes back to lack of experience and presently practiced absence of adequate quality in construction. This paradigm needs to change immediately in Solar PV space. The efficiency of the system is fairly low begin with, so your system is going to be only as good as your design decisions, quality of the installation and finally the choice of equipment used.

Make sure the systems are designed and installed only by a qualified personnel. OPA lists the questions to ask your installers in the FIT program overview on their web site. Get informed first, cover your base, before signing up.

I can’t stress enough the importance of proper design and factoring quality into your project. Every detail counts and can’t be overlooked to get the expected performance as stated by installer and OEM. There will be a plenty of stories resulting in wasted money by systems improperly installed or installed in suboptimal conditions.
Technology is #3 on my list of priority after design and expert, quality project execution. The selection of technology is as important as design and installation, but all three pieces need to be present to maximize the program returns, meet the operator’s expectations and enjoy relative maintenance free operation of the PV system.

There are only a few vendors that current qualify for the Ontario content FIT requirement. These qualified OEM/vendors are the starting point. Then you examine total sum of efficiencies in all components – panels, inverters as stated by OEMs, length of conductors, connections leading to transmission loss before you even hit the renewable energy meter.

There is whole lot of technology out there, each claimed to be superior. Again, this is not a simple matter to settle.
What I would like to stress to you is that having a reputable and trustworthy installer that is not new in the space is going to be the key. Over time, most installers will gain experience, just don’t let it be on your account.

Do your homework, get references, talk to the clients that have the systems in operation for at least couple of years. Substandard PV system performance is one thing, leaking or damaged roof is entirely different story, but both will cost you big time...

So what panels to choose? Ontario qualified manufacturers currently specialize in mono and polycrystalline panels. I’m not aware of any thin film panels being offered just yet that qualify for the program. Thin film panels are cheaper to make and better at harvesting diffused or indirect light and may be a better choice for some installations where crystalline panel systems would suffer. There are of course some downsides too relating to projected longevity and the fact these have lower conversion efficiency ratings over crystalline products, etc.

Inverter space is a another story undergoing a bit of a revolution. There are many different types of inverters to start with, suitable for different applications dependent on the site and operator requirements. There are string inverters vs. microinverters. Some will allow per panel performance monitoring, eliminate panel mismatching or partial shading phenomena, where others won’t. There are many choices, many decisions.
What I’m trying to say is - if you are not an expert in the PV field, hire an expert!

One that is very familiar with pros and cons of each product, combination of products and can help you to reduce the risk of not achieving the desired performance. The PV contract length with OPA is 20 years, you want to maximize the system performance with minimum losses over the two decades, in order to meet your payback and revenue forecasts.
PV arena will be a very interesting place to watch. You consumer, developer, if you have south facing roof space without obstructions, get in, check out the FIT programs, see if these are right for you.

If yes, the sooner you do it, the better. OPA along with local hydro companies will eventually have to start rejecting applications as installations will lead to power grid destabilization. Some of the causes are related to intermittent nature of solar energy, state of transmission and distribution line capacity as well as total cost of the program. Achieving the adaptation goals, some EU countries have already terminated their very successful FIT programs.

The Ontario FIT programs will ultimately lead to inflow of investment, innovation in new, more efficient technology, redistribution of the grid, addressing grid challenges due to its age, creation of new jobs, but will also result just like every new industry in a consolidation and ultimately a survival of the fittest.

Exciting times...

Energy From Waste Technology

Not long ago, I was involved in the revolutionary field of creating Energy from Waste (EFW).
I was excited to have a hand in something that could leave a lasting legacy for the future generations.

Why?
Having a great interest in the subject of human impact on our planet, I’m troubled by the traditional methods of waste disposal that are costly, have a profound impact on the environment, our food chain and the future of our children.

Since we constantly generate waste, we have been disposing a very significant resource of renewable energy. The organic portion of the waste consisting mostly of Hydrogen, Carbon and Oxygen has a significant energy value that is literally convertible to cash.

Making energy from waste - What a clever concept!

 Instead of burying or incinerating the waste, feed it into a process that converts this organic matter into a gas, gas to electrical energy and other useful by-products without the environmental impact of the more traditional methods.

You ask what is this organic matter full of energy?
The organic materials, or your feedstock – consist of food waste, paper, plastics, carpet, wood, biomass even tires or coal can be used for the energy from waste conversion process.

Municipal solid waste also contains inorganic materials such as rocks, glass, metals, etc. things that will not burn if lit on fire under the normal circumstances.
Inorganic materials are sorted out prior to entering the process or pass right through it without much chemical interaction.

I mentioned word combustion under normal circumstances. I used the term on purpose, because this process doesn’t use combustion and I wanted to drive the point home. Combustion happens only in the presence of oxidant such as air.
Combustion in EFW process is mostly not desired, because oxidation at high temperatures creates toxic chemicals that you later have to get rid of at a great expense, not to mention that combustion significantly reduces the calorific value of your product – a synthesis gas, also called Syngas...

Here comes an important point and my opinion: EFW process should be an anaerobic process that happens in an absence of air. It is a thermal decomposition where complex molecules of solid waste are broken down to simpler gases such as Hydrogen, Methane, CO, CO2 and very small amounts of other more complex hydrocarbons (HCs).

The Syngas is then cleaned up of the more complex HCs and nowadays used as a fuel to run internal combustion engine generators or combined cycle co-generation, using gas and steam turbines. These giant machines are optimized to run on Syngas with extreme reliability and very low emissions. A small portion of electricity generated is used to run the process with the balance sold to the energy grid.

Really cool fact about the whole concept is that we are only scratching the surface. The potential for various methods of Syngas utilization and creation of future technologies on this foundation is immense. For example, Instead of using the Syngas for generating electricity, we could be using it to produce a pure Hydrogen, which can be used as a fuel for your future hybrid electric / fuel cell vehicle. Other alternatives include turning Syngas into Natural Gas substitute that can be feed back into Natural Gas distribution network. There is a great potential for production of various liquid fuels and other useful chemicals.

The waste heat from the plants can be used to generate more electrical energy, use it to heat greenhouses or other buildings. The waste CO2 can be re-used as a plant fertilizer or used to grow micro-algae. Micro-algae are great potential source of medicinal oils, liquid fuels, fertilizer, animal feedstock and who knows maybe a source for engineered food in the near future.

While this energy from waste technology is not easy or cheap to develop, the potential for closing the loop in our product creation, consumption and renewal cycle is there, which is very, very significant. It is of strategic importance to human kind to get this technology right to reduce our environmental footprint, assist with getting us off the fossil fuels, have renewable source of energy and yeah, somewhere I mentioned the food. For animals to start with...

I urge our government to continue supporting organizations in EFW business, helping them to complete the development and commercialization of this disruptive technology. We need to nurture and support these programs any way we can as an investment into our collective future, not to mention it makes an incredible economic sense and as an opportunity to put people to work in a new, greener economy.

I’m confident that EFW can turn into a major success story, put us on the course of more sustainable and responsible living. In the long term EFW programs will assist our shrinking planet with the cleanup and self healing, ultimately benefiting all its inhabitants.

Building insulation, heat loss, solar gain and heat transfer

When I came to Canada in mid 80’s I worked in residential building construction “learning English”. Coming from Europe where the building technologies are much different it occurred to me that there is something odd about the product of the north American building industry. I couldn't quite put my finger on it at the time.

In the 90s I built myself a house where I used some of the R2000 standard methodology.
While I did a very good job at sealing the building envelope with copious amounts of Tyvek wrap, tape, foam, caulking and vapour barrier, my efforts went only so far. The furnace was still running in the winter and A/C was churning in the summer more than I would have liked. Although better than an average Canadian home, the comfort level and overall energy use seemed less than optimal for me.
It wasn’t until about 5 years ago, when I started being preoccupied with efficiency, sustainability and alternate building technologies that I started cluing into the problems related to buildings and heat transfer.

There are 3 types of thermal transfer that we need to be cognisant of:
• Conduction
• Convection
• Radiation

Today’s North American residential buildings remind me of giant heat sinks. The technology itself doesn’t address adequately the thermal bridging phenomena where heat travels through solid materials, such as your studs, windows, etc.

If you look at the thermographic image of a building in the winter, this becomes quite apparent with the visible, warm colour contrasts depicting where the highest rates of thermal transfer take place.

There are also the thermal bridging areas that are not clearly visible. Does your basement feel cold in the winter? This is because of the heat loss through the footings, inadequate slab and basement wall insulation.

Solution:
Start with the properly insulated footings and foundation, talk to your architect, builder about super-insulating. Best money you can spend...
The more thermally efficient building envelope you have means less money you will spend on the energies and savings on scaling down your HVAC equipment. You will also experience higher comfort levels without hot or cold spots in your building. Don’t forget the high quality windows and doors to slow the heat transfer. Instead of siding, consider using stucco where the extra layer of EPS insulation reduces thermal bridging through the walls. Check out Plaston Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems by http://www.plaston.ca/ to learn more on the subject.

The roofs, Oh those shingle roofs!
Asphalt is one of the best absorbers of infrared energy. Your shingles absorb anywhere between 80-95% of thermal energy from the sun and then transfer this energy under your roof heating up the attic air. Some IR wavelengths further penetrate right into your building interior where we use more energy to cool for comfort. Sounds wasteful? It is.

The same happens with low quality or antiquated windows – solar gain further heats your interior in the summer. Walls, lacking radiant barrier are no exception and subject to the same phenomena.

Solution:
For roofing, stick with the light reflective colours and if you can, avoid the asphalt shingles altogether. Look into metal roofing systems. While they cost more, these are far more durable, last longer and reduce the radiant heat and increase your home resale value. While we are on the topic of roofs, look into proper attic ventilation and don’t forget to Google green roofs.

Radiant heat traveling through the walls can be reduced by application of radiant prevention foils, membranes and even insulation panels with silvery radiant foil already attached for easy installation.

Don’t forget to consult windows experts, make sure your windows have the correct glazing. Note, you should not have the same type of glazing on all of your windows. I highly recommend local Ottawa company Thermotech windows http://www.thermotechwindows.com/ . They have an exceptional line of windows and a great service.

Excessive building air infiltration is another weakness that costs you money. Our homes are full of smaller and larger holes that invite hot or cold air inside of your home. The problem is that it is always the opposite temperature of desired. In the winter the cold air gets in and the warm air out and in the summer it is the opposite. I read somewhere that average sum of all unintended openings equals to having a hole the size of a medicine ball whacked into the side of your home – hardly a prescription for efficiency...

Solution:
As with everything, proper planning and design is the key, but in this particular case you start with the right choice of quality doors, windows, then Stop!

Don’t let the inadequate installation to ruin the result. In the industry, improper installation is very common leading to wasted materials, time, money and can lead to water damage, mould and costly repairs.
Furthermore, It is critical that care is taken to foam every gap, tuck tape every seam and connection. Feel free to go obsessive here, you can’t go wrong...
I mentioned only a few issues, however the problem starts with an incorrect urban planning in relation to building orientation and a lack of building science in the building design. Most will agree there is a lack of quality factored in construction process where builder / building operator are two different people, so the old paradigm rules, not in favour of the owner/operator. The owner gets stuck with repair and energy bills.

Today’s energy prices are making us complacent, we just don’t feel enough pain to act and do the right thing by building energy efficient homes.

For you as the consumer it is very difficult to acquire a building that has the longevity, comfort, health benefits and beauty at the right price that you so desire and deserve!
The great news is there are economical solutions to these issues. While I touched on some at very high level, one by one, we will address these in more detail in my future blogs.

So, stay tuned and feel free to send me your comments.

Start Building Sustainable Future

On daily basis I look around and watch reports on CNN about the politics, economic situation, climate change crisis and wonder about our direction as a society.

I came to the following conclusions:
The human interaction with the nature, one another and its effects on the planet Earth is rooted in our mindset, the way our brains are wired, the inputs and programming we are receiving from the family, society, from the media resulting in the ways we treat this planet today.

We made much progress as species in a very short time to the detriment of our planet and ourselves. However, being at the top of the food chain makes us obligated to figure out a way out of current predicament. That statement may actually come as a surprise to a lot of people.

Yeah, every one of us bears the responsibility and at some point we will collectively be accountable for our actions to the future generations. We will require a creation of a fundamental paradigm shift, away from demand for instant gratification and collecting excess wealth without giving back to the planet and society. There are ways of achieving the balance between our needs and wants. Let's start working on the right type of legacy.

We need to examine the history and re-learn how to plan for the future, the skills that kept our ancestors alive and our presence possible.

Examine the more recent lessons learned. Take for example the “own the podium” approach adopted for Olympics that has turned into a lot of gold for Canada in more than one way. Why not continue with the same philosophy that generated incredible performance and demonstrated leadership?

As a country, we need to stop simply following every trend in the US. Granted, our economies are somewhat joined together, it doesn’t mean they are on right track. Well, this is a subject for another day...

I think most Canadians will agree that we have an acute need for leadership role to seize the incredible opportunity in the front of us and build the new economy on Carbon ashes of the old one (which is not working too well, is it..).

Educate, retool for the new economy, put people back to work in the present for the future. Figure out the lifecycles, plan, execute...

I’m not by any means a tree hugger or a green crusader. I developed my perspective over past many years looking at what is going on this planet.

At the present day, it is no longer feasible and strategic to look at our doings from a 30 000 foot view. Instead, we have to learn to look at the Earth as if we were sitting in the space. This face view of a slowly rotating planet is needed in order to understand this complex ecosystem with all its political, social, economic, geographic, cultural, ecological, etc. etc. variables. It is important to understand these variables interact with one another in the closed environment that WE are sharing.

In this context, it is not unlike looking at a fish bowl. You upset the conditions in the bowl, the fish will not thrive...

There are solutions and I believe that we can turn the challenges we face into opportunities that will benefit us all, but we need to be cognisant of the fact that time is working against us and that we need to work together without too much politicizing the present climate and economic crisis.


Start Building Sustainable Future.