Are You a Solar Space Heating Cadet?

So, there is this giant fireball in the sky that we call the sun. It sends down oodles of powerful electromagnetic radiation upon us every day, and we mostly just use it to get a good tan.

We have all heard of solar PV panels that magically convert this solar radiation into electricity,

but have you heard of a different kind of solar collector that turns this awesome solar radiation into HEAT? 

If your answer in “…umm, no?”, then you MUST keep reading!

Your future, everyone else’s future and the future of Earth depends upon You learning more!

Solar space heaters (often referred to as solar air heaters, solar collectors, solar furnaces, solar pop-can heaters…) are insulated boxes with a black interior metal something-or-other and a clear polycarbonate (like that tough Lexan, plastic glass stuff) or real glass covering, mounted on a sun-facing wall or roof of a building.

They collect solar radiation and transform it into heat!

You know how when you wear a totally black outfit and sit in the sun you get super hot as compared to when you wear, oh, say, something very bright and reflective, like a white, sequined, disco jumpsuit? Well that is solar heating science at work!  

 

There are two main types of solar air heaters: 

• “Closed-loop solar air heaters”: With these, air from within the home or building is pumped through vents in the walls into the solar collector box, where it becomes really hot and is then pumped back into the building. Fantastic free heating!

• “Open-loop Solar Air heaters”: These take the cold air from outside the building and preheat it before it is pumped into the building. This type of solar air heater is often used for large, industrial buildings that require extra ventilation. Definitely some free-heating, plus fresh air! (-assuming the air outside is not polluted)

 

Ok, Now You Need a Very Quick History Lesson:

The history of solar air heaters began a few decades ago with creative hippies going back to the land and doing all sorts of innovative and nutty stuff.

They started building the original solar heaters which used no fans at all and relied upon the natural convection of heated air to flow from the top of the solar collector, through the upper vent and into the home at ceiling level.  But, this natural, hippy air-flow by convection is very minimal and not the ideal way to heat any space, especially NOW, with all this amazing technology at our fingertips in the 21^st Century.

 

Alright, here comes the good stuff!

In 2013, along struts this plucky, young company from Canada, Greenhill EnviroTechnologies Inc., with an incredible invention called Okapi that has turned the world of solar heating upside-down, literally!

Julian Jameson, creator and inventor of the Okapi Systems, was having fun YouTubing in 2012, and to his great surprise, discovered that the science of solar air heating was way, way, way behind the times.

Jameson, who has a very cool background in computer and video game design and programming, in addition to electronics, realized how important it is to be able to control the flow-rate and direction of the air that passes through the solar collector box.

The result? 

-Good-bye, Hippy Passive Solar Heating.

Hello, Futuristic Active Solar Heating!

 

A bit of a ‘mad scientist’, Jameson thought actively blowing hot air out at the ceiling was pretty much pointless, too, and the world deserved much better. He determined that precise variable-speed fan control systems operating solar space heaters made them all heat a room better, and heat it more often! And so, he invented the Okapi Systems: variable-speed fan control systems that effectively heat a space by blowing the hot air out at floor-level and maximizing the solar heat harvest!

Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

Well, it gets even better.

 

It turns out that we are polluting our precious air throughout all the cold months of the year around this planet burning wood, oil, gas, coal and sometimes dung. This air pollution from all this smoke is contributing to sickness and death, increasing the CO2 in our atmosphere and creating climate change!

We are all burning stuff to stay warm during the cold seasons, when on sunny or even just partial-sunny days,

 we shouldn’t be burning a darn thing!

 

And so, off goes this daring, new company, Greenhill EnviroTechnologies, dancing around the internet with their crazy brand, “Okapi” (named after an obscure animal that hardly anyone has heard of: a cousin of the giraffe, but it has stripes and a much shorter neck). They had a successful Kickstarter Project in 2013 to finalize their first product line of intelligent, variable speed fan control systems, then had another successful Kickstarter Project this fall of 2014 for their new wireless options!

It turns out there are a lot of old, young and new hippies out there trying to change the world for the better!

 

Solar Flower Power!

In fact, there are thousands of people building these solar space heaters and putting them on their homes, log cabins, cottages, garages, workshops, barns, sheds and doghouses! And now, there are actually commercially available solar air heaters! Yes, you can go out and buy one! Except, their fan control systems don’t hold up when compared to the patent pending, innovative features of the Okapi Systems. Eventually, all these commercial solar air heaters are going to have to have Okapi Systems operating them in order to optimize their solar heat harvests.

 

 

Alright, you are feeling like you have learned something new, now, and that always feels pretty sweet. It gives you hope for a future with less pollution, a healthier planet, and yes, you could save a lot of money on your heating bills, too! (And, wow, aren’t those heating bills getting outrageous?!)

 

 

So here’s the punch line: Wireless Modules & the Okapi Viewer App

The Okapi Fan Controls Systems can now come equipped with data broadcasting abilities. With the “Okapi Viewer App” you can read the performance of your solar space heater instantly on your smart phone or tablet devices. You can also connect with your computer, log data, then graph the performance of your solar space heaters.

Congratulations: You are now a Solar Space Heating Cadet!

Well done: you have learned a lot.

Now, your mission is to share this knowledge with others.

You can do it.

You can make this technology popular.  You can learn more.

You can train all your friends and family to become Solar Space Heating Cadets, too.

You can build and install a solar space heater.

 

The future is now: Check it out, get involved and change the world.

Make the Next Generation Proud.

Happy Solar Space Heating Season!

Warm Regards,

Meredith Williams

To Market, To Market…

I haven’t attended SEO school, but I am trying my best to teach myself Search Engine Optimization survival tactics.

I think I am almost at a middle-school level.

Since this Greenhill Adventure began, I was well aware that magically,

whenever I wanted to learn anything, Google was the place to go.

Now I finally realize that getting that magic to work for us, to enable someone, anyone,

anywhere in the world to be able to find out about our clean-tech invention is quite the endeavor, a huge magic trick.

We are slowly, but surely, learning how to get ourselves heard above the roaring crowd of the millions upon millions of websites.

What an amazing world.

Making Strides

Here is a post I wrote back in February, 2014.  I had a very ponderous day.

Salt Springs Provincial Park, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada

If you had the choice between making many, quick, short steps or making few, slow, long steps,

which would you choose?

I have tried both ways.

 

Making many, quick, tiny steps was loud. My feet made sharp scuffing sounds as they hit the ground. My whole body worked hard with each step and my breath was frequent. My snow-panted legs swished against each other piercingly, my arms snapped back and forth vigorously to keep up my momentum. I was expending a lot of energy and felt a strong sense of vitality. It was exhilarating, fun and enlivening. But, I also noticed, with all this noise my crunching feet and swishing clothing made, that I could no longer hear the birds or wind. I was concentrating so hard on moving and moving quickly that I lost track of the trees and hardly noticed the dogs running around me.

 

Making fewer, but longer steps felt smooth and stealthy. My motions were eerily quiet. I could hardly hear my steps. My body was calm and relaxed, my arms barely needed to swing and my breathing was stately. I heard a raven calling across the field, I saw the dogs racing and chasing each other. I felt the wind and I marveled at the trees slowly drifting by.

 

These two ways of progressing are completely different, and both essential to practise at different times while on a walk, in life and while starting a business. The quick, short steps are invigorating: they get the heart racing and the mind focused. The slow, longer steps are restful and allow for observations and creativity to flow.

 

 

We successfully completed our Kickstarter Project for “Okapi: the Intelligent Fan Control System for Solar Air Heaters” in November, 2013. It was an exciting experience full of very busy days, a lot of good noise and many short, quick accomplishments.

 

Now, we are taking slower, longer strides with our business. We are thoughtfully meandering the legal territories associated with bringing an electronic product into the market. The previous quick, short steps we used in announcing ourselves and gaining public awareness were exhilarating and awakening to our spirits. Currently we are calmer and quieter, learning, researching and creating so much along the way. Yet, soon, we may quicken our steps, again!

 

Salt Springs Provincial Park, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada

 

As much as I want everyone to have solar air heaters on their houses NOW, I accept that getting this technology into the minds and hands of the general public will take time. It will take many, quick, loud and small actions, combined with fewer, calm, large actions.

With time, we will reach our goal, our destination: our Greenhill vision.

Salt Springs Provincial Park, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada

 

This vision is beautiful and kind, sweet and relaxing. It is a place where the air is clean, the land is not disturbed, the hillsides are vibrant with wildlife, yet everyone is still warm and cozy.

And the Geese Return… Happy Spring!

 

 

Thank you to everyone: our Kickstarter Project was successful! Thank you to everyone who pledged for prints and paintings: your support was so very helpful. I hope you are enjoying the artwork. And to our adventurous solar air heater builders: your pre-orders were so very important.

 

Those special DIY backers will be receiving their Okapi Systems very shortly as we finally smooth out the last tiny legal details of our electronic product distribution abilities. We have been so very thankful for the kind patience.

We, ourselves, have been quite frustrated about how long it has taken to figure out all these details, but they make the process a difficult and meandering one for a very good reason: consumer safety! None of us want some dangerous person soldering electronic products in their basement and selling them on the internet without them being checked-over by officials and standards agencies to ensure they are safe for use, meant for their intended use, and comprised of safe and certified components. So the long certifications, standards and guidelines process, though frustrating, is something for which we should all be grateful!

 

At the bottom of our website are links to all our social media sites: Follow us on Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube and Like us on Facebook. We invite you to join in on discussions, post questions or comments, share our pictures and posts and become a part of this green movement!

 

The winter was busy and oh so quick: full of shovelling snow, cross-country skiing, working with CSA, learning about the sale of electronics products,  making our company website, writing proposals and applications, some research and development projects and lots of family time…  Check out the new website: www.greenhillenvirotechnologies.com.  The next major addition will be coming soon: our Purchase page: where you can make an order, pay for it and have your Okapi System delivered to you right away! Very exciting times….

 

Check out our website pages devoted to information and calculations about energy, environmental and financial savings from the use of solar air heaters.

 

We are getting more involved with our community: next week is the local NSCC (Nova Scotia Community College) Entrepreneurship Conference. We have been invited to give a short workshop about how to pitch a good idea, and tell our personal tales of becoming entrepreneurs. Visit our social media sites to learn more: the entire day’s events are open and free for the public as well!

 

 

 

You can also “Sign-Up” on our website to get an email-notification of when we will be ready to start receiving and processing orders.

 

Happy Spring, Environmentalists!

 

PS:   “Follow” this blog… I promise it will only get better from here!  😉

 

“Green Fern”, 2013, oil on watercolor paper, 8″x10″, by Meredith Williams, MDW. A Greenhill EnviroTechnologies Inc. Kickstarter Reward.

 

 

The Time Has Come!

 

The time has come when it is sad if you don’t have solar air heating panels on your home! The time has come when it is frowned upon if you don’t have solar hot water! The time has come when your neighbors are writing a petition to get you to stop burning so much fire-wood and polluting their air! The time has come when it is a crime to not do everything you can to live sustainably! The time has come when cases of “Criminal Negligence of the Environment” by governments, corporations and citizens alike are hitting the headlines around the world!

The “Trial of Suzuki” is a fantastic project to read and learn about. Check it out and become a participant!

http://trialofsuzuki.ca/

Tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 3rd, 2013, our Kickstarter Project ends at just after 9pm!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2107309041/okapi-the-intelligent-control-system-for-solar-air

I have butterflies: we know we can make our goal, we are so close! And what if we don’t make our goal? Well, the people that pledged will always be remembered as loyal supporters and green-hearted wonders (but their credit cards will not be charged.) We will simply continue on with our mission, regardless: making sure every home gets effective solar air heaters working on it!

And if we Do reach our goal? More people will learn about solar air heaters, More people will get involved and our air will get cleaner faster!

Two, 4’x8′ screen-design closed-loop Solar Air Heaters, operated by the Okapi 2.i System, help keep this old farmhouse warm during the cold months of the year.

 

Do you want less pollution? Do you want a healthier future for your kids? Then stop burning oil, wood and electricity on sunny days! It is so simple and you can easily get a solar air heater working on your home, too!

We came out of the wood-work in early September, 2013. No one really knew what we had been up to because it had been top-secret up until late August of this year! We had been feverishly working on writing our patent for “Okapi”: the first and only intelligent fan control system for solar air heaters.

We had been living like hermits. Suddenly, during the past two months we became very public and very social. What a glorious change in lifestyle!

We have been out to great gatherings: like the Tech Social, Small Business Week Social, Inventors’ Day and many great private talks and meetings with forward thinking folks. It has been so much fun making many new friends, learning about so many others that have been living sustainably already! What wonderful humans there are everywhere!

I am very thrilled to make numerous meaningful connections with such clever environmentalists. There are millions of people working to change this world for the better: organic gardeners, environmental activists, tree-huggers, clean-technology inventors, climate-change supporters, fossil-fuel dependence therapists… I am so happy to find these free-thinkers! These people are changing this world.

These people are working to save your children’s future!

The sustainability lifestyle is very attractive. It gives back to you everyday. It gives you that meaning and purpose you have been searching for in life! I am so inspired to do so much more. As soon as you get involved, you will also experience this revitalizing feeling of empowerment flowing through you.

I want to build a greenhouse!

I want to grow and preserve my own vegetables!

I want to grow my own herbs!

I want to build a chicken coop and raise our own chickens, meat and eggs!

I want to make my own clothes; wash them with a new, energy efficient washer and hang them out to dry on the line or in my “Okapi-controlled solar-air-heater Outdoors Clothes-Drier”!

I want to have solar home-heating!

I want solar water heating!

I want solar electricity!

I want to live off the grid!

I want cleaner air and a healthier environment.

I want your kids to be able to breathe in the future.

We will be having an open-house soon, our own Solar House-Warming Party.

You are invited. We look forward to meeting you. We look forward to starting more green projects. We look forward to helping you get solar air heaters on your home and providing you with the best fan control system for them. We look forward to attending Your Solar House-Warming party!

The time has come for us all to be able to breathe easier.

Okapi: The Intelligent Fan Control System for Solar Air Heaters

 

Our Kickstarter.com Project

 

Okapi Systems are intellegent, variable-speed fan control systems for closed-loop Solar Air Heaters. It is robust, serviceable, smart and Patent Pending.

Based in Greenhill, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada, Greenhill EnviroTechnologies Inc. is introducing a new clean-tech product to help everyone deal with the rising financial, environmental and health costs of electricity and fuels used for home-heating throughout the world.

Visit us at our website: www.greenhillenvirotechnologies.com

You can learn all about Okapi: what it does, how it works and why not only you, but all of us need one.