Research firm gets green light for 2000 worlds fair

originally published in The Montreal Suburban April 21, 1999
by Irwin Rapoport

An N.D.G. [Notre-Dame-de-Grace, a district of Montreal] environmental technology firm has just been given remote site status for its environmental advance technology home which includes solar powered devices at the 2000 World Fair to be held in various cities across Germany

"This honour recognizes the firms research and experimental development of low cost innovations which reduce our dependence on hydro electricity and fossil fuels." said Ari Wloski, the president and founder of Planet Era Action Institute. "People will be able to view our technologies in real time and scale via the net and or by visiting our site in Wentworth, Quebec."

Wloski has been designing his solar powered home in the Laurentians, just north of Lachute, for the last 7 years.

The 11,000 square foot six-storey structure is a living Laboratory that evaluate non-mechanical devices including aqua-terriums to restore and maintain indoor air quality; a bio-shelter to grow plants and help heat the house; gray water heat exchanger to utilize normally wasted heat energy in used water to pre-heat in coming water.

The home which depends on energy from passive systems, also has a new type of window that harvest and conserves heat gain more efficiently than previous models. The system collects energy from solar heat that is transferred to an insolated storage chamber in a stone or water medium. When needed the heat can be distributed through conventional methods such as ducts and radiators.

"We are developing a new generation of solar panels which are both photovoltaic (turning solar light into electricity) and glycol filled (which harvests the heat and transports it to storage)," said Wloski. "This panel is unique because it allows the taking of sunlight and dividing it into light and heat components to ensure more power can be harvested per square metre."

Wloski says the home is revolutionary because it uses re-engineered box beams (a new structural framing system) which has the potential of making houses less expensive and simpler to build.

"This system of building which is being used at 5 North American locations is more resilient than traditional wood structures while using less than half the lumber for a comparable structure" he said. " Not only is less wood used but it is used in much smaller diameters for framing. This along with a new assembly method reduces the costs even further."

By using automated systems Wloski hopes to make this new building method commercially profitable in the world market within a year. "The real challenge is to retrofit technologies to existing structure in N.D.G." said Wloski.