Technology Overview

What is STREAM?

STREAM™ is a residential clean energy system that uses freely available, renewable energy from the sun, air and deep below the ground surface to deliver residential heating, air conditioning and hot water year round.   With a STREAM system - like the one on display at Copperfield - home owners can save as much as $2,500 a year in energy costs by reducing conventional energy consumption by 79%.

STREAM is the first renewable energy system in Ontario to combine the no-cost renewable energies of both solar-thermal (heat from the sun) and geoexchange (heat from the ground) technologies in one simple, affordable and easy to use package for new homes.  

How do geoexchange systems work?

Geoexchange systems provide heating and air conditioning for homes using free heat from the sun stored below in the ground.   Also referred to as geo-thermal systems or ground source heat pumps, geoexchange systems have been in use for over a century, and are among the most energy-efficient of all heating and cooling systems available.

Geoexchange systems collect the earth's heat through a loop of pipes installed about 150 feet below the surface of the ground.   An indoor heat pump system concentrates the earth's energy and circulates the heated air through the building and hot water system.   In summer, the process is reversed in order to cool the home.   Geoexchange systems work best under extreme annual temperature variations, making Canada's climate particularly ideal.  

How does geo-solar integration work?

Solar-thermal systems can act as a "supercharger" for geoexchange systems by converting energy from the sun's rays into additional heat for the home's heating and hot water needs. Solar panels on the home's roof collect heat from the sun and transfer that added heat into the geoexchange system.   The end-result is an even higher performance, single and easy to control energy system for the entire house, powered primarily by renewable and free energy sources.

While it is the first production home system to integrate solar and geoexchange technologies, STREAM is a patent-pending combination of proven, high quality components supplied by leaders in clean energy systems.   The geoexchange heat pump was supplied by Vancouver-based Essential Innovations, and the solar-thermal system was provided by London, Ontario-based Enerworks.  

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