Key Personnel - Associates - Partners

Chris Ives, Peter Kettenbeil, Angela Ives, Peter Wells  (EriA Inc, Hudson, Quebec)

Turbines Eoliennes Vertica Inc  - Jean-Pierre Binda, President  
Sorel-Tracy, Quebec - 3kW and 15kW urban wind turbines (vertical axis). 
PrecisionH2 Power Inc (On-Grid or Standalone Interfaces) - David Fletcher, Chairman  Hudson, Quebec - SOLO™ multi-mode power inverter systems

Christopher Ives

Douglas Hart

Ron Alward

Christopher Ives, founder of ERIA EcoSystems

Building upon 40 years of design, RD&D, and project management in Housing, Energy, and Transportation, Chris founded EriA Inc in 2007 to focus on building healthier buildings, less destructive infrastructures, and communities that are resilient ecosystems. Chris studied Mechanical Sciences (graduating in 1965 at Cambridge University) but his work experience started in 1961 as an apprentice learning about Nuclear Power Plants. He is now an advocate of simpler, more renewable technologies. He built a solar house in 1976 with National Research Council / McGill University support, and worked from 1989-2007 as a Researcher / Project-Manager with CMHC (Canada's Federal Housing Agency) on urban, remote, aboriginal and northern housing.

Chris was the "midwife" for the Vancouver & Toronto Healthy Houses, and for the Eagle-Lake "EcoNomad" demonstration (onsite containerized utilities). He was closely involved in starting CMHC’s "Net Zero Energy Healthy Housing" initiative (now renamed "EQuilibrium Housing"). He also authored CMHC's "Backup Power for Your Home", and guided demonstrations of onsite micro-utilities for water & sewage, and heat & power co-generation systems. Chris believes we must now focus our resources to implement the sustainable energy & water technologies which will have the greatest impact on reducing emissions & pollutants to address the environment crisis. Solar, Wind, Water, Biomass/Waste, and Earth Energies are especially of interest for INTEGRATED community-scale grid-tied energy and water systems.

Although better buildings, houses, and vehicles are definitely steps in a good direction, for our grandchildren's sake we'll have do much more than just build Eco-Houses. Chris believes we must now "Partner with Mother Earth" to rebuild our local water and natural resource bases, in other words our ecosystems. Wherever possible this must include local agriculture, aquaculture, forestry & game – especially water-tables, streams & rivers, estuaries and coastal zones – not forgetting that wildlife corridors are very much part of this too. Chris is a keen angler, kayaker, oarsman, sailor, and enjoys snorkeling .

EriA EcoSystems Inc. is a renewable energy innovation, project-management and consulting company located close to Montreal. EriA's "LifeRing" Trademark has been created to highlight appropriate designs, products, and services.

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Douglas Hart  

Tel.  (416) 538-7940
94 Yarmouth Road
Toronto, ON, M6G 1W9 
Email: doughart@watershed.ca

30 years experience in research and consulting, environmental products, low energy building design, solar energy, building science, resource management. 

Patents and technical experience spanning several disciplines, including heat transfer, HVAC control systems, lighting, appliance controls, solar energy, molecular biology, optics, and building science.

Education

Master of Science     (Molecular Biophysics) University of Toronto, 1972.

Bachelor of Science (Physics/Mathematics)   Queen's University, 1969. (Honours)

Bilingual (English & French)

Work History

1977 - President, Watershed company group: development and commercialisation of energy and environmental products and services; resource management consulting.

1975 - 1977 - President, Cubit Renovations Ltd., Toronto:  Residential construction

1973 - 1975 - Director, MacDonald Construction Ltd., Ottawa:  construction supervisor

1972 - 1973 - Researcher, Relaxair Corporation, a Canadian based firm in Jamaica. Development of a new air conditioning system.

1967 - 1970 - (Summers) Managed a biological field trial team based in Baie Comeau, QC for Queen's University.

Recent Projects

CMHC 2008: Monitoring for Net Zero Homes across Canada. System and hardware design.

Ozz Corporation: Developing internet based building monitoring system for improved management, and purchase of electricity, gas and water.

Toronto Transit Commission: Resource management consulting for new bus service garage on Comstock Road.

Cityhome (Toronto Housing Company): computer assisted resource monitoring of 12 building sites (water, gas, electricity). Recommendations saved over $250,000 in the first year of the program.

Toronto Healthy House 1996: Energy design for this award winning project; CMHC and private sector funding. Building uses thermal storage, water recycling, solar energy, and consumes one tenth of the resources.

Recent Awards

2006: Green Innovation Award, Toronto & Region Conservation Authority, Sustainable House Competition.

2002: CMHC External Research Award, “Understanding Multi-Residential Load Profiles”

1994: Green-Vention Award First Prize, Canadian Industrial Innovation Centre.

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Ron Alward

2632 Vallée Missisquoi, Mansonville, Quebec, J0E 1X0
Tel 450-292-5663 - Fax 450-292-5603
alward@qc.aibn.com

Ron Alward has 42 years experience in the renewable energy field working with international agencies and government and non-government organisations in over 70 countries. He has provided expertise in technology research, development & application, design engineering, institutional & program development and planning & project management. His primary interests are energy and water technologies appropriate to family and community self-reliance. He has extensive experience in technical training and assistance and with adaptation and implementation of technologies for use in remote communities in Canada and throughout developing areas of the world. He has worked with the RETScreen team from 1998-2008 (Natural Resources Canada, CETC-Varennes) focussing on capacity development and advancing renewable energy projects in remote aboriginal communities.

Ron obtained a Master of Engineering Science in Mechanical Engineering (Solar Energy specialization) from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Engineering Science in Mechanical Engineering from the same university.

Ron’s published work is extensive. An example is “Micro-Hydro Power: Reviewing an Old Concept” which presents the key considerations in so clear a step-by-step manner that it has become a useful resource for the individual or small community in any region.

Ron says he really likes the Top 10 Points to Improve Northern Housing - "The list is a tangible indication of our philosophy and shows where we are coming from on the energy side".

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