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Volume 3 - Issue 11 November 17th, 2017
Solar Energy
Stewarts choose alternate energy source Trans-Canada Hwy
Griswold, MB MacGregor, MB
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Judy Wells DELORAINE TIMES & STAR deltimes@mts.net
Donna and Dave Stewart built a new home in 2011. They wanted to utilize alternate energy to power their home, but at that time the only solar option was offered off the grid, consequently being a very costly venture. They also looked into geothermal, but the 30-year payback with this energy source was not desirable. Both the solar and geothermal were too expensive. Then, two years ago Manitoba Hydro changed its policy for the first time ever and allowed solar energy to be tied directly into their grid, eliminating a significant portion of the cost of going solar. In April 2017, the Stewarts attended the Brandon Home & Leisure Show and came upon a company promoting solar energy — “Solar Brilliance” owned by Darcy Oakden, Kelly Puhach, and Stu Jack. They liked what they saw and heard and headed home feeling optimistic. As with any major purchase, it is wise to shop around and compare prices and quality. Donna made several queries to solar energy companies — they didn’t supply answers to the phone calls or took a very long time to do so. “Darcy, Stu and Kelly of Solar Brilliance were interested from the beginning and treated us very well from the get-go. They have rural roots and ties to this area plus we also liked that they were out of Brandon, making it as local as possible,” said Donna. “Hydro kick started its Solar Program in Manitoba on Earth Day 2016 with a two-year pilot project, which is a massive rebate program, up to a maximum $200,000 rebate. The re-
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bate program ends in April 2018 and Oakden says he doesn’t know what will happen then. The Stewart’s solar panels are guaranteed to last 25 years and will have a useful life of at least 40 years,” said Oakden. “Environment and economics attracted us to solar energy. I really believe we could solve global problems with economics. We keep hearing Manitoba Hydro is struggling financially and costs to the consumer are expected to keep rising,” said Oakden. “No one blinks an eye at buying a pick up truck for $70,000 yet they think solar is so expensive to install. It’s basically the cost of a truck which won’t be worth much in 10 years but solar will pay for itself in that time,” added Donna. Canada has its solar roots in Ontario. The racking and panels Solar Brilliance uses are no longer made in Canada, however the Stewart’s panels were proudly assembled in Canada. The solar unit at the Stewart’s consists of 98 panels — each panel has 325 watts for a total system size of 31.85 kW. The panels face south and are sturdily anchored with heavy-duty screw piles — 10 feet in the front and 15 feet in the back. “Wind is the number one enemy of solar panels. We also use the best racking available (20 year warranty) — it is made to last. There is a long lead-time sometimes for this racking but it’s worth it. Some companies and consumers are impatient and don’t wait for the best, but we prefer to install the quality racking. It is also not expensive to insure solar panels with your household insurance. Panels are an investment and an asset. Studies have shown that homes sell quicker and for more money that
Donna and Dave Stewart of Goodlands stand beside their new solar energy panels installed by Solar Brilliance out of Brandon. Photo/Judy Wells
Darcy Oakden of Solar Brilliance points out a micro inverter which is connected to each pair of solar panels at Dave and Donna Stewart’s new solar energy unit. Photo/Judy Wells are powered by solar,” said Oakden. Each panel pair has a micro inverter to invert the DC power into AC power for the grid. This method is a bit against the grain of the traditional method of wiring all the panels to one massive inverter. “This can be dangerous, as if one inverter goes down the whole system shuts down and as well you are limited to the lowest producing member in the array which impacts your solar harvest. With the micro inverters each one is an independent
entity and all are operating at their peak efficiency. If one goes down, the other 96 pair are still working. As well, the warranty is not as good with the string inverter systems. “I like to compare it to some sets of Christmas lights — one goes out, they all go out and you have to locate the culprit,” added Oakden. Oakden is actually an accountant by profession. He believes strongly in solar energy and he saw an opportunity to get into the industry on the ground
floor. “Kelly and Stu very capable journeyman electricians and feel the same about solar,” says Oakden. “We’re in it for the long haul. Everywhere where we could overbuild, we’ve overbuilt. We love the Westman area — from Brandon south and to the Saskatchewan Border.” “The Stewarts are one of the first to take a chance on us — they are like pioneers and have eliminated their electricity bill in the process,” concluded Oakden.
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