The Building Saskatchewan Green conference was in Saskatoon last week. Although I could not attend the entire conference, I did get a chance to attend the Friday luncheon and visit the expo.
I always find the expo to be the most interesting. I feel I can get a sense of what is happening in the market by who is at the expo. The following are some of my observations:
- There were 3-4 solar hot water companies. All of them claim to be very busy. My friend Brent Veitch from Rock Paper Sun is booked up well into the new year.
- A number of booths were offering Photovoltaic options. Prices still are very high for this technology. One provider had an offer for a 2.6KW on gird system for about $26000.
- Affinity Credit Union had a large booth promoting special financing for green residential construction projects. They did not have a lot of detail but advised that I contact one of their many branches.
- SaskPower/SaskEnergy had a booth promoting their loans. Of special interest was a low interest loan of up to $50000 for renewable energy systems such as wind, solar or geothermal.
- WSE Technologies was showing some of their new product lines. They are carrying a number of new products that are worth considering. I am meeting with them in the next few weeks to get a better understanding of their products and services
- At least two Integrated Concrete Form manufacturers were represented. One promised to send me more information on their product. I will be doing a blog on ICFs in the near future
- Rick Olmstead, the inventor of heat exchange ventilation systems had a booth. You may also know Rick as one of the principals in the Rivergreen Ecovillage project.
Sometimes it is interesting to note who was not there:
- Window technology is a very important part of any passive solar strategy. There was no one there from the window manufacturers
- Structured Insulated Panels (SIPs) are being positioned as a green building alternative. No SIPs manufacturers were represented
I really enjoyed the time I was able to spend at the conference. Next year I plan to be there for the full day.
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ICF forms and SIPS systems are the same old building systems joggled around. Neither is sustainable…neither significantly reduces life cycle costs nor addresses long term maintenance issues, etc.