General information Location: Mississauga, Canada Sunshine hours (annual average): - Type of project: Residential Type of application: BIPV Time for design process: Building: 18 months PV: 2 months Time for construction: Building: 23 months PV: 1 week Realization: 2001 [ Top ] Description The owners of the building have made a strong commitment to the environment and their lifestyle reflects this concern for environmental issues. The location for their home was in fact based partially on the availability of public transportation. They also wanted the house to reflect a commitment to sustainable living. In addition to the utility interactive photovoltaic system which also has stand-by power capability, the house features solar thermal water heating, energy efficient appliances and radiant floor heating. The house is constructed from allergy free materials. It is best known for its straw bale walls and was featured on Canadian national television news. The photovoltaic array consists of 18 UNISOLAR Standing Seam Modules. These PV modules are dimensionally the same as standard roof panels and are designed to be integrated with the conventional part of the roof. In the original design, blue roof panels were selected to match the appearance of the UNISOLAR modules. However, due to costs, metallic coloured panels were eventually selected. For this house, the photovoltaic portion of the roof comprises approximately one quarter of the south facing area. [ Top ] System characteristics PV system power: 2,3 kW utility-interactive with standby capability Type of building integration: Roof integration. Type of cell technology: 128 watts (18) amorphous (standing seam roof modules), Manufacturer: UNISOLAR Inverter: Central 4000 W inverter, Manufacturer: Trace Engineering [ Top ] Project cost breakdown Design: CAD 1 100 (€ 780) Solar modules: USD 12 800 (€ 14 600) Other electrical components: Inverter (used): CAD 3 500 (€ 2 500) Battery (used): CAD 3 300 (€ 2 350) Electro installation: CAD 1 500 (€ 1 050) Mounting system: none required Construction: none Miscellaneous: none Total: CAD 28 000.00 (€ 20 000) The system is expected to generate approximately 1700 kWh annually. Present utility rates in the Mississauga area are 5,65 cents per kilowatt-hour (€ 4 cents). [€ 1 ~ CAD 1,405 - € 1 ~ 0,877 USD] [ Top ] Performance characteristics To conform to street orientation and local building by-laws, the building and hence the roof integrated photovoltaic array face 45 degrees east of true south. This results in an estimated 25 percent loss of total annual electricity production. Electricity generated: 0 kWh (system not completely installed at this time due to construction delays with other components of the house) Design recommendations: The house is unique and includes many innovative features such as straw bale construction. Photovoltaic installers should be aware that the degree of innovation generally has a direct effect of the length of construction time. It should also be noted that the addition of a large storage battery in a residential installation adds another degree of complexity. [ Top ] Project team Client: Northrup, Bradbee and Terrett Project architects: Martin Liefhebber Design: PV - Per Drewes, Sol Source Engineering Engineers: Reid, Jones and Christofferson Contractor: Brian Lenehan PV manufacture: UNISOLAR Inc. [ Top ]