Heating and Air Conditioning

Heating and air conditioning uses 56% of the energy in a standard home. This high percentage can easily be reduced thanks to certain household devices or habits. The most used devices are programmable thermostats that allow you to automatically set the indoor temperature to vary depending on the time of day. This not only allows you to save  energy but also ensures that the temperature inside feels comfortable. An easier way to reduce energy use is to lower the temperature when away for a certain amount of time (EX: on a trip).

Insulation

Insulation allows a home to maintain a stable indoor temperature without being affected by the outdoor weather. This will enable a home to be more energy efficient. For example, in winter, to enjoy the indoor heat, the heating area must be thermally insulated. Older houses have a tendency to be poorly insulated thanks to the materials and normal usage.

The room that most often causes a home to lose its heat is the attic. That particular space is most often left un-insulated and unheated, allowing the heat to escape. Other spaces susceptible to heat loss are the basement,  the floor above an unheated room and air ducts.

Water Heating

Water heating uses between 14% and 25% of a household's energy consumption. This quantity can also be easily reduced by certain devices or regular habits. An easy way to accomplish this is to reduce the quantity of hot water used by taking a shower instead of a bath and by not leaving the water running while washing the dishes. One of the main issues with having a water heating tank is poor insulation. To stop its high energy consumption, you can insulate it with products that cover the top of the tank; this will allow the tank to keep the water's heat. You may also use a programmable thermostat so that the water heating tank operates only during hot water consumption.


Lighting

Lights are definitely the most energy consuming device in any house. You can easily reduce their consumption with tricks like turning off lights that are not being used. To save even more energy, you can always change your incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs. They produce the same amount of light as older types of bulbs, but use up to 30% less energy and last ten times longer. Another useful device is a motion detector. It lights up a room as soon as it sees movement or hears a sound (depending on the type of detector) and will turn off the lights once the room is free of movement or sound.


Household Appliances

The field of household appliances has greatly evolved since its conception. Simply by upgrading your older appliances for newer ones you will greatly save on your energy consumption. Right now, products with an Energy Star stamp offer an excellent energy efficiency. Another great way to lower energy use is to get rid of appliances' phantom load. A phantom load exists when a device, despite not being in use, still consumes energy. A few examples of this would be TVs, cordless phones, PCs, etc...To stop this costly useless consumption, simply yourself a power bar and shut it off when the devices are not being used.


Useful Links

Renoclimat

Novoclimat

RetroFit program

ecoENERGY program

Solar and Wind Maps

To make sure that solar or wind power is appropriate for your area, please consult the following maps to make sure there is enough wind and the peak solar hours are strong enough to power your turbine or solar panels.

For American Customers:

Wind Strength

Peak Solar Hours

For Canadian Customers

Wind Strength

Peak Solar Hours

Explanation of Solar Panels

Solar panels convert sunlight into electrical power. They are also referred to as photovoltaic modules or solar modules. We, at EnerStore, will help you design and choose a solar panel system that is best suited for your projects; whether it is for a sailboat, camping purposes, your RV or residential set ups. Simply select the category you wish to browse through. We have solar panels from 1 watt to more than 150 watts and carry products from various companies like Solartech and Sharp, among others.

If you require assistance outside of business hours, feel free to download and fill out the questionnaire. Then return it to us and we will gladly assist you. Solar Panels Questionnaire.PDF(requires Adobe Acrobat)
Solar panels or photovoltaic panels are usually thin rigid rectangles a few inches thick and varies in length and width, between 2 and 3 inches. They often weigh less than 35 lbs. We pride ourselves in offering you different types: with frame, flexible, rollable, and stratified for roofs.
  

Flexible Solar Panel

There are also models which are made of flexible and resistant membranes called flexible solar panels. They weigh roughly 10 lbs or less. What makes these types of panels quite handy is the fact that not only are they lasting, but also can be stored when you are finished using it. Roof solar panels are seen more frequently. Those thin laminated layers are more expensive per watt and more sq2 is required to obtain the same quantity of electricity.
The required amount of electricity  depends of, not only, the panel's maximum power and its surface but also the sunshine which varies from season to season, the time of day and the weather.  In the other words, the Sun Peak Hours are key in obtaining the maximum performance from your solar panel system. To figure out how much sun your region gets, simply use our links at the bottom of our home page.
Their efficiency is weaker than the cells from which it's made from due to internal electrical loss and non-covered areas, but still remains roughly 10 to 15%. The standard power of a PV panel varies between 100 and 200 Watts per square feet (sq2) (an efficiency of 10 to 20%; manufacturers claim approximately 15% for their best products), allows for a peak power between 50 and 250 Watts per panel, depending on its characteristics like its size. The energy power is distributed under DC (direct current) likeness which allows to connect it to a battery for multiple applications, however an inverter is inquired if it's for supplying a distributing network. The voltage varies from panel to panel and the way the cells are connected. It usually varies between 10 and 100 Volts. Other than its power and surface, a panel has 3 important characteristics:
•         The gap to maximal power (+ or - 5%)
•         The variation of power due to weather
•         Its constancy during peak performances (Manufacturers usually offers a warranty that covers 80% of its initial power performances after 20 - 25 years).
 

Types of Panels

The most common panels are made from silicon based cells. Other available types of panels are either still being researched/developed or still too expensive.
•         Monocrystalline silicon panels: PV sensors are silicon crystal based wrapped in a plastic enveloppe.
•         Polycrystalline silicon panels: PV sensors are silicon polycrystalline based. Slightly less expensive to make than monocrystalline silicon, but they also offer a weaker efficiency. The polycrystalline are obtained by fusing electronic quality scrap silicon.
•         Amorphous silicon panels: The spread panels are made from amorphous silicon with high energizing power and flexible bands which allows a perfect architectural intergration.
 

Their efficiency

120 Watts Monocrystalline panels should give the same resulting power whether it be in a 120 Watts polycrystalline or amorphous panel. The biggest variant is the quantity of surface the panel uses. Seeing as the monocrystalline is more reliable than the amorphous one, the latter's power will be physically stronger. The solar panels' efficiency is still 15 to 20% in its ability to change sunlight into electrical power. More often than not, amorphous panels are less costly than crystalline. If the surface is not an issue, a higher quantity of amorphous panels could be a great way to improve the system's performance seeing as amorphous panels have better results than crystalline in hot temperature and can tolerate some shading.
 
Recommendations

EnerStore recommends using Solar panel systems for electrical power needs ONLY. For any heating needs, please feel free to browse through our HeatFinder section for products that are air or water heating solutions.
The location of panels
The location of panels is key in its efficiency. Make sure to set them up in an area where it will fully absorb the sunlight between 10 AM and 3 PM. Also, make sure to avoid any location where the panel could suffer from any shading.

Components

Here are the components required for a proper install. If you only need 1 panel in a battery based system, you will need a charge controller and over-current protection:
•         Solar Panels
•         Solar Charge Regulator
•         Batteries
•         Inverter

If you plan on using more than one panel, you will also be required to protect your wires, solar panels and charge. A simple way to accomplish this feat is to use a multi contact for solar panels. The connectors link to the cables that are from the solar panel. This wire can be split into 2 ways for connecting two extremities. The Combiner box acts as a the "splitter" for both extremities of the cable. For each chain of solar panels, you will need the proper size breaker.