Canada

This installation guide was written by Brian Bot of Solar Supply Canada. It was written for residential use in Canada.

This report was created by the Canadian energy research institute CanMET Energy. It is a case study of the Drake Landing Solar Community, and the solar thermal seasonal heat storage system that was tested there.

This paper is a step-by-step instruction manual on how to make your own direct-air solar thermal collector for any small room or facility.

Utilizing the basic physics of heat collection and integrating affordable materials, this brief can be used by any do-it-yourselfer who is interested in cutting back on heating costs. Photos are provided to give the reader a visual guide to the process and to explain the physics of how solar thermal works. This can be used as a tool to raise awareness for people who may not be completely convinced of solar thermal’s capabilities.

2010 was a good year for the solar thermal industry in Canada. The total newly installed collector area (brown line) grew by 54 %, from 129,418 to 199,491 m². Air collector sales (red line) doubled and - for the first - overtook the solar swimming pool market (blue line), which is more or less stagnating. With 150 %, the segment of glazed solar water collectors (pink line) experienced the highest growth, although the 20,000 m² sold in 2010 make it still a low-level market.
Source: NRCan

Canadian air collector manufacturer Enerconcept uses Danish know-how for the industrial version of its Luba collectors. On 1 July, CEO Christian Vachon (left) entered into an agreement with the owner of Danish company Solarventi, Hans Jørgen Christensen, allowing Enerconcept to use an air collector patent of the Scandinavians. The innovative technology has already been implemented in a major project in Quebec City.
Photo: Stephanie Banse

This case study was written by the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA). It examines the case of Penticton's Hostel in British Columbia, Canada, which installed solar water heating for its hospitality operations.

Solar heat is penetrating Denmark’s district heating networks at an unprecedented rate: Around 90,000m² of collector area (63 MW_th) are going to be connected to the country’s networks in 2011. The map shows the existing and planned solar district heating systems in Denmark, including the installed or planned collector area. The Danish consulting and engineering company PlanEnergi was responsible of drafting the map in the framework of Task 45 “Large Solar Heating/Cooling Systems, Seasonal Storage, Heat Pumps”. The task was started in January 2011 by the International Energy Agency’s Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (IEA SHC), which will run until December 2013.
Source: PlanEnergi

As Bruce Sibbitt, Engineer at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), announced during his presentation at the Solar World Congress in Kassel, Germany, in September, the solar district heating system at the Drake Landing Solar Community has - in its fourth year in operation - almost reached the planned solar fraction of 90 %. In addition to borehole heat storage of 34,000 m³, the system is equipped with two short-term storage tanks, which have a capacity of 120 m³ of water each.
Photo: Natural Resources Canada

This case study focuses on the City of Toronto Vehicle Maintenance Garage and their switch to a solar thermal air heating system.

The garage hosts the town’s garbage trucks and other work vehicles, so there was a need to both ensure airflow, and because of the cold temperatures of Toronto, ensure reliable heat. So the town installed three solar heated fans that provide the interior of the garage with a steady stream of fresh air that has been heated by the sun.

Document available in both French and English.

The Trade Show and conference CanSIA Solar Canada 2011 takes place from 5 to 6 December 2011 in Toronto, Canada. The conference will include industry and technical updates, government activities (all levels), R&D and attracting investors. It is designed especially for solar industry members, government representatives, NGOs, utilities, financial community members, architects, developers, builders, dealers, installers and anyone else interested learning more about the Canadian solar PV and solar thermal industry.