SOLAR HOUSE
In
July 2015, Trinidad & Tobago launched the country’s very first fully
solar-powered, 100% energy efficient home for viewing. This house uses no
energy from the TTEC grid and is 100% powered by solar power. It is the second
of its kind in the entire Caribbean region, the first one was installed in
Barbados. The home is an initiative pioneered by the Ministry of Energy and
Energy Affairs with the aim to bring greater awareness to renewable energy and
the benefits of using various energy conservation technologies for enhanced energy
efficiency in Trinidad and Tobago. The Ministry worked closely with National
Energy, MTEST, the University of Trinidad and Tobago and a contractor from
Barbados in partnership with local firms.
The
2-bedroom, 1-bath, fully inhabitable house is located at the University of
Trinidad & Tobago’s Point Lisas campus. It displays the feasibility of
renewable energy technologies, specifically solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, for
everyday use to provide all the electrical requirements of a regular dwelling
home.
The
roof-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, which convert Trinidad &
Tobago’s abundant sunlight to energy, are designed to provide an average of
300kWh (units) of electricity per month. A regular home, according to the IDB,
uses approximately 16 kWh a day. The solar house was designed efficiently
therefore would only use approximately 10 kWh a day. By this comparison and
taking into consideration the source of energy for the home is renewable, the
home will save 2.5 tons of CO2 a year from being released into the environment.
The
energy produced from the panels is then used to power all major appliances
including a fridge, a microwave, an electric kettle, a computer, ceiling fans,
an electric iron, a standing fan, television, DVD player and radio.
Visitors
to the house, which would include students from primary and secondary schools,
would be not only be able to see how renewable energy can be used to fuel their
everyday lives but also they would see what a fully energy efficient house
looks like in terms of the way it is built, the appliances used, the materials
used in its construction and the practices employed behaviorally those that
would theoretically live there would employ to maximize energy usage and
conservation.
The
solar house will be a wooden 1500-2000 square feet in area and contain 2
bedrooms and an open plan kitchen living room area with a small veranda. The home’s
solar electric system was designed to supply the energy needs of an average
household in Trinidad & Tobago with the main components which are the solar
panels, inverter, controllers, batteries, fuses, breakers and disconnect
switches.
Solar
technologies will not only be used for general household electricity but for
specific appliances such as a solar water heater, solar-powered attic fan,
solar-powered outdoor motion detector lights and solar-powered garden lights.
In
order to be more efficient certain components were used to keep the house cool,
reduce water use and monitor appliance energy use, such as, plastic roof tiles,
which reduce the heat entering the attic; roof insulation that prevents the
heat that has passed through the roof from entering the living space; window
over hang that reduces heat entering the window; window tint that reduces heat
passing through the window glass; lighter coloured exterior paints which reduce
the amount of heat absorbed by the sides of the house; West Wall insulation
protects from the afternoon sun ;water harvesting system for reuse of
rain-water for toilet (gutters, water tank etc.); low energy refrigerator;
kitchen appliance testing facility; Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) and LED
lights which use less energy than incandescent ones.
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