Solar savings: for more than two decades, Ken Kelln, P. Eng., has parlayed his engineering and business skills into solar energy solutions in Saskatchewan.Kelln specializes in designing and installing renewable energy Renewable energy utilizes natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, which are naturally replenished. Renewable energy technologies range from solar power, wind power, and hydroelectricity to biomass and biofuels for transportation. systems including remote cabin and grid connected systems. His Lumsden based company, Kelln Consulting Ltd., performs energy audits and supplies a range of products from solar powered highway signs to composting toilets com·post·ing toilet n. A human waste disposal system consisting of a toilet that uses little or no water connected to a specially built tank in which waste material is decomposed by aerobic bacteria. . [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kelln's bread-and-butter is solar powered pumping systems for watering livestock livestock Farm animals, with the exception of poultry. In Western countries the category encompasses primarily cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, donkeys, and mules; other animals (e.g., buffalo, oxen, or camels) may predominate in other areas. . As far as the urban industrial market is concerned, Kelln is seeing an increase for his services although the trend is slower than he'd like. There are exceptions, such as solar heating solar heating Use of solar radiation to heat water or air in buildings. There are two types: passive and active. Passive heating relies on architectural design; the building's siting, orientation, layout, materials, and construction are utilized to maximize the heating for commercial swimming pools. "Of all the solar energy solar energy, any form of energy radiated by the sun, including light, radio waves, and X rays, although the term usually refers to the visible light of the sun. fields, including solar thermal and solar electricity, the one with the greatest payback Payback The length of time it takes to recover the initial cost of a project, without regard to the time value of money. of investment in saved energy dollars is solar pool heating. That's because we're using the sun's energy at its maximum in summer." Kelln has designed and installed solar energy systems to heat pools in the communities of Bengough and Assiniboia. Three more communities have booked solar retrofitting for their pools this summer. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kelln estimates these communities will see a 50 per cent reduction in the cost to heat their pools. The cost to heat the Bengough pool, which took extra measures to reduce heating costs, went from $9,000 in 2004 to $3,000 in 2005 (not including showers). "There's nothing greener than solar energy," Kelln says. "Being more energy efficient can make your business a better corporate citizen and increase your bottom line." |
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