Alberta’s NDP government is creating a stir with its emphasis on energy, but while most have heard about the more controversial carbon levy, the NDP’s energy efficiency incentives are creating a lot of opportunities for Alberta energy innovations.
The NDP’s energy efficiency initiative is a rebate program that is designed to encourage homeowners and business owners to buy energy efficient products. Not only will a rebate program that is designed to encourage Alberta energy innovation encourage individuals to buy energy efficient items for their home and workplace (a step that will lower carbon emissions as well as energy bills), but the step is also expected to help build the economy by enabling and encouraging more companies to develop new energy efficient innovations.
The rebate program, slotted to be ready this month, may provide homeowners with the opportunity to receive LED light bulbs and low-flow shower heads at a low cost to encourage even the simplest form of energy saving, but homeowners will also be able to apply for rebates for purchasing Alberta energy efficient items, like appliances, and businesses and non-profits will be able to receive rebates for purchasing larger energy efficient products, heating and cooling systems included.
Ready to get started with energy efficient items that can save you money on your energy bill and put you in line for government rebates? Here are a few of the Alberta energy innovations that are already on the market:
Tesla’s Powerwall
The biggest problem with solar photovoltaic panels is that they can only save you from consuming energy off the grid in the daylight—and that’s a significant problem in Alberta, where the winter months cause an impact on how many sunlight hours you get in a day. That problem is quickly being eliminated, though. Not only are technological innovations making solar PV more efficient, but Alberta energy innovations are also working on creating batteries that can more efficiently store solar energy for use after daylight hours. Liquid metal batteries are one innovation that is being developed, but Tesla’s Powerwall is one solution for efficient energy storage that is available in Alberta as we speak.
Insulation
Alberta energy innovations don’t have to come from the energy industry to directly impact your power bill. Switching to LED lightbulbs, installing water-saving shower heads, and installing water-saving valves on your toilet can help more than you might think—not to mention fixing leaky taps and simply unplugging electronics and switching out the lights when they are not needed; but the other important part of everyday living people tend to forget about is insulation.
Energy efficient windows and doors now go beyond double panes to feature coatings that actually fill the gaps between the panes, giving you a much more energy temperature (and sound) barrier that can help you with the cost of heating and cooling your home. But that isn’t all, there have also been innovations in insulation—like switching to spray foam or loose-fill fiberglass insulation to provide a much more efficient form of insulation for your walls. Now there is even a robot in the works—the q-bot—who is specially designed to travel in the tight spaces under your floor to better insulate your home.
Energy Star Appliances
Don’t underestimate the cost-saving efficiency of Alberta energy innovations like Energy Star appliances. Spending a little more to buy an energy efficient TV, ceiling fan, light fixture, air conditioner, space heater, fridge (or refrigerator compressor), stove, washer/dryer, toilet, water pump—the list goes on and on—can go a long way towards lowering your power bill.
Comparing energy rates isn’t the only way to keep your power bill low. Invest in Alberta energy innovations that are designed to save you money—and to make a positive environmental impact along the way.
