Canadian Solar Community

Some people install one or two solar panels on their roof, others take the plunge and go for solar heating but few build an entire housing estate with solar sustainability in mind.

Canada now has a community of 52 homes built specifically to take advantage of solar energy. Okotoks, located in Alberta, can generate 1.5 mega-watts of thermal power during a normal summer day from its 800 solar panels located on the garages of each house. As Alberta has hard winters and often sees temperatures of –33 much of the energy generated in the summer is stored underground in thermal borehole storage ‘tanks’.

The houses in the community are insulated to 30% above the average Canadian home so that they can take advantage of the stored underground heat. This is pumped around the community to heat the homes and provide hot water.

More details about the Drake Landing Solar Community can be found on their website: www.dlsc.ca

[Via Ecofriend]