A showcase for sustainable solutions

The Kinsmen Beach Amenity Building is an example of Invermere’s commitment to promoting green living

1 of 2Bill Swan, owner of Greenman Sustainable Solutions, is working with the District of Invermere on the new Kinsmen Beach Amenity Building on Lake Windermere; he is involved in some of the District’s other eco-friendly projects as well. — Ella Swan photo

2 of 2Water for the lawn and landscaping at the Kinsmen Beach Amenity Building will be supplied by rainwater through the use of a 9,500-litre rainwater collection and irrigation system. — photo courtesy Bill Swan

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Bill Swan, who is the owner of Greenman Sustainable Solutions in Invermere, B.C., worked with the District of Invermere to incorporate four state-of-the-art renewable-energy systems in the design of the new Kinsmen Beach Amenity Building on Lake Windermere.

The electrical generation

The Kinsmen Beach Amenity Building will generate some of its own electricity through a grid-tied solar photovoltaic system, also called solar PV. This system captures energy from the sun in silicon modules mounted on the roof, converts this energy to electricity and distributes the electricity through the building’s conventional power grid. Swan said public and commercial buildings as well as private residences equipped with this system can support their own electrical needs and produce revenue by selling extra power that the system may generate to BC Hydro.

Solar hot water

Swan said approximately 65 per cent of the building’s annual hot water needs will be supplied by a solar domestic hot water heating system. The system will operate year round, in conjunction with a standard, electric water heater—so there will never be a shortage of hot water at the facility.

Putting heat back where it belongs

An annualized geo-solar system (AGS) at the Kinsmen Beach Amenity Building will allow the facility to retain some of its own heat and distribute it back into the ground rather than letting it all escape into the atmosphere. Swan said it’s like putting a hot plate underneath the building.

“AGS is a small thermostatically activated fan system in the attic and it pulls some of that hot air down into a network of underground pipes and heats the ground lying beneath a building’s footprint,” Swan said, and he later added, “It just makes use of what naturally happens in the earth’s temperature.”

Water conservation

The fourth eco-friendly system that Swan will be installing at the Kinsmen Beach Amenity Building is a 9,500-litre rainwater collection and redistribution system. Instead of rainwater being treated as a waste product, it will be collected and used to irrigate the landscape around the facility.

With this system, Swan said, the building won’t have to use as much treated municipal water, thus saving energy and water. He noted that rainwater systems are great for homes, businesses and public buildings that use large amounts of water.

Opportunities for going green

Swan has worked in the renewable-energy sector for 25 years; right now, he said, there are great opportunities open for young people to get into the industry.

“There are all sorts of training institutes out there that (allow) one to get schooled up on these (renewable-energy) systems and how they work,” said Swan. “I would love to see more people get involved in it as a profession.”

In addition to his work on the Kinsmen Beach Amenity Building, Swan is involved in other eco-friendly projects in Invermere, such as a community-scale composting system.

For more information on solar power and other renewable-energy systems, contact Greenman Sustainable Solutions via email.

To read more on the Kinsmen Beach Amenity Building, see Building up the Beach.