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Marty Hope, Calgary Herald - 27 March, 2010

Big brother is watching and the place is bugged. Has been for three years. Len and Brenda Beblow know this because they were there when their home was wired -- but they're OK with it.

 

From left, Brenda Beblow with children Madison and Ryan and husband Len in their solar-heated home, with the panels seen through a window to the right.

From left, Brenda Beblow with children Madison and Ryan and husband Len in their solar-heated home, with the panels seen through a window to the right.

The Beblows moved into the Drake Landing Solar Community in Okotoks in early 2007 knowing they were being monitored by Natural Resources Canada as part of an experiment.

The master-planned neighbourhood of 52 homes has successfully merged Canadian energy efficiency technology with the natural heat and light from the sun.

Initial startup costs reached $7 million, including $2 million from the federal government, $2.9 million from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and $625,000 from the Alberta government.

The first of its kind in North America, Drake Landing is heated by a system designed to store solar energy underground during the summer and distribute it to the homes during the winter.

The Beblows, along their kids Ryan and Madison, live in the two-storey Umbra model by Sterling Homes. They are among nine households whose homes have been wired with monitoring equipment to keep track of power use 24 hours a day.

Natural Resources Canada "watches like a hawk," says Keith Paget, estimating manager for Sterling Homes, which built the experimental homes. "This is the most watched development in the world."

Just completing its third winter season, the solar community has played host to visiting delegations from elsewhere in Canada as well as the United States, China, Russia and Germany -- all watching to see how the experiment is proceeding.

 


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