Summerside's Heat for Less program may expand across P.E.I.

P.E.I.'s draft energy strategy recommends Summerside's project for storing energy be expanded across the province.

The Heat for Less program has been helping thecity maximize its use of wind energy for about five years.

More than 300 electric thermal storage water heaters, room heaters and furnaceshave been installed in homes and businesses across the city.

• 2016 Provincial Energy Strategy (second draft)

The units have bricks that store heat overnight, created from wind energy. Homeownerscan use it during the day.

It reduces heating costs for customers by offering a lower rate of $0.08/kWh in exchange for allowing the utility to remotely control when water heaters and thermal energy storage devices should be using energy and when they should be using stored energy, based on existing wind levels, according to the energy strategy.

Could benefit entire province

"This program has multiple benefits when applied to our entire province, including the ability to reduce our peak demand as well as integrate additional wind and solar generation into our electricity generation mix," the report's authors say.

"It may, however, require regulatory or infrastructure changes to ensure the appropriate technology is in place and easy for customers to implement, including communications-enabled meters for optimal effectiveness."

Bobby Dunn manages the program. He says it's saving customers money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"In being able to convert people off the oil, we have decreased our greenhouse gas emissions by about 3,340 tonnes," he said.

'We're decreasing that carbon footprint'

He said that equals the removal of575 to 785 houses using about 3,000 litres of oil a year. The units cost between $1,400 and $2,200 each.

"So that's significant, you know. We're decreasing that carbon footprint in our community," he said.

Dunn says there's room for another 150 units to be added to maximize the city's wind energy use.