Maybe the solution is Swedish Parans Daylight System. The Parans sunlight collector, a modular panel mounted flat on roofs, would bring sunlight indoors via fibre optic cables to light your dark room.

Calgary-based company Neu Elements has brought Parans Daylight System over to Canada. The European system is currently on display at Willow Studio in the city’s Kensington district. The system is another sign of Albertans opening up to the concept of solar energy.

“There is a tremendous amount of interest in solar energy  (in Alberta) and it’s growing very fast,” says Rob Harlan, executive director, The Northern Alberta Chapter of the Solar Energy Society of Canada (SESCI-NAC). A non-profit, educational organization, SESCI-NAC provides a resource for both the public and government about wise energy utilization and related technologies.

Former Californian Harlan, a solar contractor and general building contractor, has designed and installed over 150 solar electric and solar hot water installations.

He says as one of Canada’s sunnier provinces, Alberta has powerful renewable energy resources such as wind and solar energy. Another positive aspect of our weather is the colder temperature. Solar electricity increases its productivity when the temperature goes down, he says. Alternately the hotter it gets, the less productive photovoltaic panels become. Surprisingly, based on statistics on photovoltaic productivity in cities around the world, Edmonton ranks highly. Solar modules in Alberta also see a gain in productivity from the reflectivity of the snow, adds Harlan.

Trends
A host of Alberta companies, such as Verda­­-Tech Energy Management and Consulting Services design and install solar systems in Calgary and Edmonton. “Most of our work is in solar hot water systems tied to domestic hot water,” explains VerdaTech spokesperson David Vonesh. “Solar electric is a lot more expensive and the payback is longer.”

Last year, in Alberta, the company installed 80 solar hot water and six solar electric systems. He estimates the budget for a solar hot water system at approx­imately $7,000 while solar electric ones range from $40,000 to $100,000.

Their typical Alberta homeowner client now are mainly environmentally aware and families. “Everyone knows you can have electricity from the sun but there are a lot of other uses,” says Vonesh. With VerdaTech, he says a solar water system retrofit project can be installed in 24 hours in most Alberta homes.

SESCI-NAC has a comprehensive list of Alberta solar energy suppliers, designers and contractors available on its website like Edmonton’s Trimline Design Centre. Specializing in renewable energy solutions and products, Trimline also offers a training centre showcasing renewable technologies with hands-on training.