Solar Communities

Imagine living in a community where the homes are oriented toward the sun. Most windows face the south to maximize solar heating in the winter, while extended eaves provide shade from the high summer sun. The internal walls of a passive solar home absorb heat during the day and release it at night, providing even temperature all the time. Solar thermal collectors are used to heat water for washing and provide comfortable in-floor radiant heat; photovoltaic solar panels deliver grid-tied electricity to power appliances. Surplus power is passed back to the grid and credited on your power bill.

This vision may have the ring of science fiction but these are all proven technologies and with recent refinements and government incentives, a grid-tied solar home is completely practical today.

Walking through a solar housing community, you may notice that streets are wide and houses are comfortably spaced from each other. There is a good reason for this and it’s enshrined in the community’s easement laws, protecting each homeowner’s access to the sun. The rooftop solar collectors you’ll see on each home will never be shaded by another structure as they capture the sun’s energy.

Gord Waldner, The StarPhoenix