DIDSBURY, Alta. – Erhard Hermann’s house is not hard to find.
It’s the only house in the small prairie town of Didsbury with three wind turbines reaching to the sky and a wall of solar panels facing the sun.
The family hasn’t always lived without an electrical or gas bill.
When a customer of Hermann’s electrician business approached him a few years ago about the possibility of using alternative energy for his farm, Herman researched the possibilities. The customer did not proceed with the project, but it was enough to turn Hermann into a believer.
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All the heat and electricity for his new house and shop is generated by sun or wind. As well, his business has tapped into the growing list of homeowners, including farmers, looking for ways to reduce their energy bills.
This year, his company, Erhard’s Electric, will generate 75 percent of its income from installing alternative electric and heating systems. Next year, he anticipates it will be 100 percent.
“We’re showing it is feasible to do,” said Hermann.
His customers are farmers looking for ways to cut costs, municipalities trying to reduce energy costs on their large buildings and small acreage owners and oil companies in remote areas who don’t have, or want, access to power .
“Those people are looking for ways to be off the grid.”
Hermann tries to paint a realistic picture of alternative energy for his customers.
For a farm already connected to power lines, called the grid, buying electricity is still the cheapest option. Installing a wind turbine or solar photovoltaic, or PV, panels to generate electricity is expensive.
“It’s not going to pay,” Hermann said.
“It would be helpful in terms of standby (power) or reducing energy costs in the long run. In terms of money returning quickly, it probably isn’t going to happen.”
In Alberta, only southern regions have enough wind to turn turbines continuously.
“It needs to be uncomfortably windy.”
It’s a different story for solar thermal systems.
Using the sun’s energy to warm water for heating homes and barns is viable in many situations, especially for dairy barns that require hot water year round, he said.
“Solar thermal does have a good return on it,” said Hermann, sitting in his cozy house with solar-powered in-floor heating.
Before Hermann takes on new customers, he requires them to examine their energy consumption, lifestyle and willingness to change.
“The first step is always to reduce. It’s much more cost effective to reduce. That really is step number one.”
He said the plug can easily be pulled on cattle stock watering bowls if they’re well insulated and built to use ground heat. He also encourages people to question the need for every electrical appliance, portable telephone charger, old refrigerator turned into a beer fridge in the garage, yard light and radio left on through the night.
After energy reduction, Herman recommends solar thermal panels for heat. The final step is wind or solar photovoltaic for electrical back up to keep a well pump or fridge working.
Amy Clarkson, conservation co-ordinator for West Central Conservation Group in Sangudo, Alta., said many farmers already use alternative energy in a small way. Small wind turbines or solar panels pump water from dugouts to troughs. Farmers use solar PV panels to power their electric fences or wood burning stoves to heat garages and homes.
Clarkson said farmers’ interest in alternative energy has increased dramatically in the last two years as gas and electrical bills increase. Early adopters have already absorbed the technology into their lives, but most are reluctant to take the first step.
“There are definitely the tire kickers,” said Clarkson, who believes Canada’s existing infrastructure will keep alternative energy secondary.
With changes in policy and price reduction in solar and wind technology, “I think it will head in that direction,” she said.
Glossary of energy terms
- Net billing
The electricity meter is allowed to run backwards when electricity is being sent to the grid, or a separate meter is used to measure the amount of electricity sent to the grid.
In either case, the consumer pays the difference between the electricity used and the amount sent to the grid.
- Grid
The existing network of electricity generation facilities and the transmission lines that distribute it throughout the province and country.
- Solar power
Photovoltaic cells (PV cells): Small, square-shaped panel semiconductors usually made from silicon in thin film layers.
When sunlight strikes a solar cell, chemical reactions release electrons, generating electric current. A global shortage of silicon has driven up the price of PV systems.
Researchers are trying to boost efficiency and lower solar electricity costs by using processes such as spray-on photovoltaic materials on roofing material or using alternatives to silicon.
Passive solar heat: Takes advantage of warmth from the sun through design features, such as large south-facing windows, and materials in floors or walls that absorb warmth during the day and release it at night.
Active heat: Consists of pipes filled with an antifreeze solution that collect and absorb solar radiation. A pump circulates the solution and heat is drawn from it to warm water or an interior space.
