When snowplow contractor John Hook first started building his own solar energy project at his Powassan home in 2006, little did he know it would be the first step on the road to his renewable energy business called Active Energy.
“In the process of building Active Energy, I learned a lot, and there’s a lot to learn,” says Hook, the sole employee of his recently formed business.
“It just seems people come out of the woodwork to ask about, where even people I already knew were saying, ‘I’ve been thinking about doing that,’ when before, I thought I was the only guy doing it, or that I was even doing something weird. Then I find out there’s a lot of people interested, so that has been encouraging.”
After moving into and refurbishing a 100-year-old farmhouse in 2000, Hook found that a decayed electrical infrastructure in the area led to intermittent and unreliable signals. Having analyzed costs and his own adventurous nature, Hook decided to take his house off the grid by way of solar energy.
After installing an outdoor boiler and in-floor radiant heating, he set up 11 solar panels and built what he calls “a solar shed” to house the associated batteries and electronic equipment. With the capacity to generate 1,650 watts of solar energy, he found that nearly half of his electrical needs were being met. However, poor sunlight in winter left him relying much more heavily on standard electricity than he anticipated. As a result, he is now considering building a 1 kW wind generator this spring, along with additional 1,000 watts of solar capacity to help meet his needs more fully.
Now armed with the practical benefits and downfalls of the technology, Hook is putting the knowledge earned from the experience to use for potential clients as he sells renewable energy solutions, such as solar modules and wind turbines.
Hook is realistic about the pitfalls of solar energy, including the fact that it is likely the costliest form of home energy.
However, units are simple to use, and typically carry a 30-year warranty, which he says helps to counterbalance some of the cost disadvantages.
Environmental concerns can make solar energy more attractive for those interested in ensuring they’re only making use of “clean, green” energy at a time where the world is preoccupied about waste. At a potential cost of $30,000 to bring a house off-grid, though, only homeowners with deep pockets will be able to make full use of the technology. What’s more, supplemental energy sources such as wind are suggested when moving off-grid, and wind generators are best used in the country or in areas with expanses of land -- hardly feasible for most city-dwellers.
In fact, with few government incentives to make strong moves towards solar energy, most city-dwellers will find that powering their homes with solar electric units can in fact prove to be more expensive than remaining on the grid.
As a result, he says most people will find solar thermal technology, where solar panels installed on one’s roof will heat the building’s hot water, to be the most feasible use of this type of energy. At a cost of $6,000, the panels are sold in the same style as an appliance in that they can be easily installed by the purchaser. By funding nearly all hot water costs during the summer months, and to a lesser degree during the winter, these units can reduce hot water costs by 70 per cent over the course of a year.
This allows for the units pay for themselves within 10 years, he says.
“If your hydro bill is $150 to $200 for your house, you’re probably spending $60 or $70 a month just heating your water, and that’s significant. If we can knock that out of there, you might see a savings of $50 a month, so that money can go towards paying back for the unit. That provides you with immediate results, and that’s something that starts to make sense economically.”
While the business seeks to fill a void in the North Bay area market for renewable energy, Hook says his efforts with Active Energy are driven just as much by a fascination for the technology.
“I just love showing off the setup I have at home. You have these square panels out here which produce energy, which goes into this little battery box, which then goes into my house and I can use it on my computer. I just think it’s cool.”
