Electrical engineer in Montreal has a solar answer to hydro bill

Montreal engineer has solar solution for hydro A Montreal engineer’s solar system has cut his hydro bill and provided possibilities for the province’s energy woes.

The sun may be beating down outside, but inside Trung Nguyen's house, it's cool. And unlike many of his neighbours, his electricity bill is low.

A man from Montreal's Saint-Laurent borough believes he has a solution to hydro consumption from air conditions, fans and heat pumps after creating a hybrid solar system that he says cuts energy use.

Typically, those appliances run on hydroelectric power, but Nguyen's is a hybrid.

"The solar panel cable goes up and all around and goes to the solar panels on the roof where the electrical one, it goes in the house, and it connects to your normal electrical distribution panel," he said.

To keep it simple, the system doesn't use a battery, and the sun's power is sent directly to the air conditioner.

"If there's solar panel energy, it switches to solar panel, but when the panel does not have any energy, it switches to hydro Quebec automatically," he said.

On a hot, sunny day, the panels provide more than enough power and the electrical engineer is constantly monitoring his system's performance.

"I wanted to do a proof of concept that there is a solution for solar power in Quebec, and it's on the residential level that is worthwhile," he said.

The Saint-Laurent borough hall has a larger version of Nguyen's solar panel.

"This building was heated by heating oil, and heating oil, as you know, emits a lot of greenhouse gasses," said borough mayor Alan DeSousa. "We wanted to convert to electricity and other forms of renewable energy to reduce our carbon emissions."

The panels are only providing supplemental power, but the mayor says his borough is already saving money.

"We estimate a payback of between five and six years," said DeSousa.

Nguyen said his system cost around $8,000 in total, and in the first nine months of operation, he's already saved $800 on his hydro bill.

He hopes the provincial government will take note.

"In Quebec, they're planning to increase electrical production," said Nguyen. "Now I'm an electrical engineer, and to build a dam, they got to spend what, $10 billion? That's a lot of money."