Climate Change In Canada

Climate change has been a major issue for over a decade. We’ve been encouraged to ‘do our part’ for the environment. Reducing energy using devices, changing our transportation habits and buying products locally are minor but significant ways individuals can adjust their lifestyles to help better the environmental situation. However, climate change is very much a long term problem that needs ideas enrooted in the short term. Statistics Canada reported that in 2009, the residential sector in the country consumed about 1,316.2 petajoules of energy, 739 petajoules (roughly 56%) of this was generated by a producer emitting greenhouse gases. The remaining 44% was produced by either hydro-electric energy or nuclear power (Statistics Canada, 2011).

As renewable energy sources become more dependable for residential use, both people and individuals in Canada should look at existing uses of these types of producers and begin to establish methods to encourage and incorporate these types of energy producers in the short term. Renewable energy such as wind and solar have massive untapped potential for energy production, and can be utilized as dependable producers of energy for residential usage. The Canadian Wind Energy Association stated that “Ontario alone has the technical potential for 24,000 MW of wind supply and that the national technical potential is also largely untapped.” (Mulvihill, Winfield, & Etcheverry, 2013). However, the country was only producing about 7,800 MW of wind supply at the end of 2013 (Natural Resources Canada, 2014). Solar energy produced even less, in around 1,200 MW at the end of last year (Natural Resources Canada, 2014). While there is potential for greater utilization of renewable energy, Canada has been very selective of implementing such producers. Several reasons exist; the major being Canada is a large

A study conducted by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation utilized a PV solar panel system and micro wind turbine to power the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), and domestic hot water (DHW) systems of a single detached home for an entire year. The study, conducted in 2008, was completed across all provinces; the results varying based on location. No province produced less than 6,239 kW/h during the year through the system (Canada Morgage and Housing Corporation, 2008). “The HVAC-related end-use energy savings varied from 47 to 53 per cent when compared with [a standard house] connected to the electric grid. Adding PV electricity generation to the proposed system resulted in an even greater annual end-use energy savings, in the range of 56 to 62 per cent.” (Canada Morgage and Housing Corporation, 2008). While the results did fluctuate between provinces, the data showed that the renewable energy producers proved to be beneficial, as all houses reduced the demand on GHG-based energy. The net energy savings from the renewable energy system are up to 56% while the net emission savings are 47.5% (Canada Morgage and Housing Corporation, 2008). A house in Hillsburgh, Ontario called Home Alive, is another example of how renewable energy systems can work. It is a “‘living’ example of the future of affordable, planet-friendly housing