Building a Brighter, Greener Future

2010-10-14

Imagine a city powered entirely by solar energy. Picture thin-film panels, solar reflectors and thermal radiation devices being used in almost every residential building and urban home—instead of electricity, and without the need for any additional heating or cooling generators. Using sunlight as a primary source of energy, gives new meaning to the notion of a brighter, greener future for Canadians.

Although this greener vision of the future has been slow to manifest, solar energy technology has been making its way into our everyday lives in the form of battery chargers, flashlights, outdoor lighting, wind-up radios and even vehicles. The stage is set and lit for the innovative changes ahead.

The Ontario government announced in January 2010 an agreement that will lead to more than 16,000 green energy jobs over six years while bringing $7 billion in renewable generation investment. This step towards green efficiency is making believers out of various energy professionals who see Ontario as an incubator for what can take place in Canada.

“Canada is a leader in these areas, especially in the district of heating using solar energy,” says Josef Ayoub, senior planning advisor in Energy Science and Technology at Natural Resources Canada. “Nobody does it better than Canada,” he adds.

Demonstrating a leadership role within this sector also requires research and development to update current solar equipment standards so that they align with building structure requirements. The potential for widespread advancements of Canadian innovation relating to solar panel technology has no boundaries, according to Ayoub.

“We are an exporting country, so we can export our knowledge and we can export our know-how but at the same time we can help industry to develop new products that we can export,” he says. Ayoub believes that the renewable energy industry is one of the world’s major growth sectors.

Rae Dulmage, Standards department director at ULC Standards, believes this global trend within the energy sector will require consistent dedication from Canada. Constant updating of existing standards, harmonizing various codes and regulations while raising awareness are all ways in which Canada’s building energy efficiency can be measured.

“Every other country of any significance is going down the exact same path, so if we don’t keep pace and lead, we will be behind,” says Dulmage.

The technology for solar panels is more common in smaller homes than larger ones, according to Dulmage who points to all kinds of options for harnessing the sun’s power and converting it into energy. Despite solar energy being relatively new to Canada, the technology is already going in innovative directions, making the importance of standardization all the more apparent.

“Standards establish the rules for product design, product testing, integrating with other related building systems and new technologies, and they also lay out rules for conformity assessment,” says Dulmage, adding that in order to have consistency, it’s essential to have a common, safety standard. Among the most widely used to address the safe application of this technology is the ULC’s Flat Plate Photovoltaic Modules and Panels (ULC/ORD-C1703-01), which is deliberately harmonized with its American equivalent.

Although still costly at the moment, Dulmage believes the use of solar panels in building construction is going to increase simply because the technology has been proven as effective and efficient, time and again, and because it will create jobs in a new area of technical expertise.

Increasing awareness about Canada’s expanding green buildings envelope is also a positive way for Canada to maintain its position amongst the global industry players. Many schools across the country are already implementing various aspects of solar or photovoltaic systems into their curricula.

“From our perspective, that’s the way you get change because the children of the next generation are going to see that and start learning about it themselves rather than just being told about it,” says Dulmage.

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This article first appeared in Volume 37 of CONSENSUS Magazine, 2010.  The information it contains was accurate at the time of publication but has not been updated or revised since, and may not reflect the latest updates on the topic.  If you have specific questions or concerns about the content, please contact the Standards Council of Canada.

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