All things green energy will be on display in approximately 80 communities across three provinces this weekend. The brainchild of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA), Green Energy Doors Open (GEDO) kicks off today and runs until September 11.

Over the next three days in locations in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, electric vehicle owners will display their cars and talk about their experiences. People will open the doors to their super energy efficient homes, called Passive Houses, to show how it’s done. And of course, the hallmark of Ontario’s green energy effort, solar installations, will be front and centre with many people offering tours of their rooftop solar-equipped homes.

For more on events in the three provinces, go to the Green Energy Doors Open main website.

One city that will hosting a green energy and electric vehicle showcase as well as organizing tours of local homes and facilities is Ottawa. A snapshot of events around the city and surrounding region is HERE. The main event is taking place at Landsdowne Park in the heart of the city’s trendy Glebe neighbourhood.

Clean energy incubator SmartNet Alliance (SNA) has taken the lead for coordinating GEDO Ottawa. Janet Stewart, president of SNA, told Canadian Green Tech in an interview earlier this week about the Ottawa event and that visitors can expect to learn a lot about green energy from people that are actually using it to their advantage. (We will have more on SmartNet Alliance next week.)

For example, visitors will learn that as components of their house begin to break down and need to be replaced, there are greener and cleaner alternatives.

“As a homeowner I have to make choices. When you have things, such as pool heaters, furnaces, air conditioners and these things need to be replaced you have choices to make and I think GEDO is an event that helps people know a little bit more about the marketplace and about what some of those new choices,” she said.

The same goes for apartment buildings or office towers, there are cleaner options and that it’s that type of opportunity that people will get exposed to.

“I think we have a huge existing inventory of buildings across Canada and that’s our biggest opportunity, is how do we bring those buildings up to new standards of energy efficiency,” said Stewart.

Canadian Green Tech will be at GEDO Ottawa and doing select tours.

Events Highlights
September 9, 10 and 11
House Tour - Wander House PassivHaus Tour with Architect Mark Rosen (Ottawa)
House Tour - EkoBuilt Demonstration Passive House (McNab Braeside)

September 10
Energy and Electric Vehicle Showcase at Landsdowne Park
Thermal Storage: Urbandale Centre for Home Energy Research at Carleton University

September 11
Business Tour - Krumpers Solar Blinds (Ottawa)
Solar Project - Dunrobin Storage Facility (Dunrobin)
House Tour - New Edinburgh Passive House with VERT Design (Ottawa)
Solar  Lab - ​A Look into the Future of Solar Energy, UOttawa/SUNLab (Ottawa)