Solar Energy - Direct Uses: A Six Week Class and Saturday Tour

Grant MacEwan University Room 6-291

Interested in “Going Solar”? Planning on building a new home? What is the path to energy independence for the Alberta homeowner? Interested in greening your job? Solar technologies are rapidly being adopted all over the world and most of them work very well in Alberta. Find out about the latest opportunities in the world of solar energy.

In this class you will learn:

- How to plan a solar electric system for your home or business including the basic components, costs and benefits as well as sources of equipment and installers.

- The design principles and working parts of an Alberta off-grid cabin solar electric system.

- How to choose a solar hot water system for your home including information on components, system maintenance and costs.

- The elements of cold-climate solar home design from an energy efficient house on up to a full net zero energy building.

- A solar greenhouse plan to grow fresh produce year round in Alberta.

- How to make wise energy planning decisions by utilizing simple payback, internal rate of return, and net present value calculations.

A number of other additional solar applications will be explained including solar water pumping, solar crop drying, solar ovens, solar cars, etc. Students will also be provided with the resources to find local installers and sources of solar equipment along with numerous high quality websites.

This is not a hands-on installation course. It is a great overview of Alberta- specific solar technologies. Equipment will be demonstrated in class. The course will culminate in a Saturday tour of commercial solar installations. Information will be provided on available resources for further training and certification opportunities.

The course is taught by Rob Harlan with additional guest instructors Andy Smith of Sol North Engineering and Bruce Ganske of Sol Source. Students will receive a Grant MacEwan Institute of Environmental Studies certificate of completion.

The Instructor Rob Harlan is the Executive Director of the Solar Energy Society of Alberta and a member of the Edmonton Renewable Energy Task Force. Mr. Harlan is a Solar Contractor and General Building Contractor with ten years experience designing and installing over 150 solar electric and solar hot water installations in California. As a general building contractor he designed and built energy-efficient, passive solar homes. He is certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners and has taught workshops and classes in solar technologies in the United States and Canada. Mr. Harlan has also lived for twenty-five years in an off-grid house powered and heated by the sun.

View the Class Outline.
View the Class Poster.

Register for this class by selecting your registration from the dropdown menu and click "add to cart") or by filling in and mailing this application form.