Looking to wean yourself off the grid? The savings - to you and the planet -- can be astronomical.
Here's how: Start by calculating how much energy your home is consuming and what you can save by changing your habits and retrofitting your home. Online aids, like Natural Resources Canada's home heating calculator (www.canren.gc.ca) are invaluable.
The next step is to calculate the return on investment of generating your own energy, beginning with the simplest technologies and those that give the biggest immediate bang for the buck.
Remember that once you opt for generating your own energy, you'll need an energy audit to qualify for federal EcoENERGY and matching provincial grants; your system supplier will provide audit and grant details.
A drain-water heat recovery system
Like RenewABILITY Energy Inc.'s Power-Pipe (www.renewability.com), it uses heat from shower, dishwasher and other household waste water to warm cold water before it enters your hot water heater. Hot waste water passes down an interior copper pipe around which cold water tubing is wrapped, warming the fresh water to roughly 25 C from 10 C. There is no contact between waste and fresh water.
Installed cost: $600 to $1,200
Approximate savings: $200 a year
Government rebates: Up to $260
Sources: Sears Canada Home Services for installation; Home Depot (www.homedepot.ca) for DIYs.
A solar hot-air system
It consists of wall-mounted solar panels that warm the cooler air from the floor level of your house and return it via a vent mounted a couple of feet below the ceiling. Thermostat-controlled systems, like SolarSheet (www.yoursolarhome.com), use a solar-powered fan to move the air through the panels.
Installed cost: from $2,500
Approximate savings: Up to 15 per cent of annual heating costs
Government rebates: None
Solar hot water system
Increasingly popular, it consists of solar panels or tubes, usually mounted on the roof, a pump, a heat exchanger and a holding tank. The system pumps a liquid, such as glycol, through a closed loop to the panels or tubes, where it is heated by the sun's energy before returning to the basement, where it transfers its heat to household water. Popular systems include EnerWorks (www.enerworks.com). Solar heating is especially well suited to swimming pools.
Installed cost: from $6,000
Approximate savings: Up to 60 per cent of annual hot water heating costs.
Government rebates: $1,300 plus
Windmills
Suitable for rural properties, they are great in high-wind areas. They supply power via an inverter to a battery bank that then feeds the household energy needs. Windmills can be a supplemental energy source or part of a varied off-grid strategy.
Installed cost: $15,000 plus
Approximate savings: Up to 30 per cent of household electricity; payback is a relatively long 12 to 15 years.
Government rebates: None
Solar electricity generation
It is, for now, within reach of only the well-heeled. Full-scale systems are very expensive, and smaller ones, like windmills, usually require backup energy sources. They are, however, ideal for isolated sites where energy needs are minimal and hydro hookup prohibitively expensive.
Installed cost: $35,000-plus
Approximate savings: As much as 100 per cent
Government rebates: None
Other off-grid products
Wood stoves. Modern stoves provide comfy heat with reduced emissions. If you don't have a source of free, high-quality wood, be prepared to pay roughly $1,100 a year to heat a 2,000-square-foot home.
Pellet stoves. They need a small amount of electricity to operate and are noisy, but these little beauties burn compressed wood pellets, throwing lots of heat and producing minimal emissions. A good stove will keep an 1,800-square-foot home comfortable for about $1,500 a year.
Canwest News Service
