Glenn and Shannon Wright live on a farm about 30 km west of Saskatoon, SK. They moved to the farm from Saskatoon in 2004.
When they moved to the farm, they noticed that the chimney from the gas furnace needed to be replaced. Being handy, they replaced it themselves, but then noticed it was already corroding after only 3 years. It turns out that the gas furnace and chimney installation was not code compliant, and the house needed to relocate the furnace or chimney. Their house was at risk for carbon monoxide exposure! Rather than make major changes that would prolong the commitment to burning fuel, they decided to replace the gas furnace with geothermal energy. In the summer of 2008, they removed their gas service and began heating with geothermal. At that time, there was a grant to install renewable energy when converting to geothermal heat, so they installed two small wind turbines (2.6kW capacity total). Unfortunately, the wind turbines did not perform as marketed, so they were ultimately abandoned after 5 years.
In the meantime, prices for solar energy dropped significantly (from 2008 – 2018). In 2017, Glenn and Shannon installed a 7.48kW solar PV system on a garage that had minimal shading. Since July 1, 2017 to March 12, 2025, this solar system has generated 69,192kWh, which works out to around 9,000 kWh per year. The solar output has been very consistent and predictably produces more in the months of March – September than it produces in the months of November – January. However, even in the coldest months of the winter, the solar system provides enough power to drive about 1,000kms per month in an electric car.
Glenn and Shannon estimate that their solar system provides about 40% of their annual energy needs (heating, cooking, water & sewer pumps, AND transportation). Glenn and Shannon have upgraded the insulation in the farmhouse and find that they now use only 30% of the energy that was consumed in 2007. These equate to savings of about $6,000 annually in fossil fuel energy that they used to buy. Glenn’s only regret – “not building a bigger solar system!”
Solar saves money and clean energy from the sun is ready to go for any residence without shading!
