The Solar Frontier

University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario: 16mm.
"The camera shows sunlit scenes while narrator expounds on the availability and qualities of the sun's energy. Northern winter scenes are shown; the narrator asks if solar heating is possible in the snow belt. Three solar-heating architects and examples of their houses are shown. The narrator describes the great amounts of energy supplied by the sun. The air-heated solar system of Solar 5 is explained and diagrammed. Nicholson explains the interior design assets of solar-heated homes. The owners of Solar 5 describe the comfort and economics of their home. The Meadowvale home demonstrates the use of solar-heating in a suburban location. The home is used to explain the use of solar-heated water for heating. The structure of the solar collectors is examined. The passive system of radiant heating through the windows is described. Shown next is how the entire construction of the Prospect House is a solar collector. The principles of this home's heating are explained—the sun enters windows, warms a concrete floor containing piped water; heat then radiates out through the floor and is stored in a water tank. The adaptation of a hearth to the system is explained. The importance of maintaining and creating an air-tight insulation system is demonstrated; the efficiency and availability of present and future solar heat is discussed; and the cost of the solar home is listed and compared to traditional construction costs. At the Meadowvale house, Lorriman uses equipment that measures the efficiency of the system. The need for solar energy in today's situation is illustrated. The present and future uses of solar energy are shown. The commentator concludes that the sun will provide a cleaner, more efficient source of energy with the expansion of solar technology."

University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario: 16mm.

Library and Archives Canada: 16mm.
"Solar heated houses in the snowbelt; houses for the average income family - their cost, performance and technology; told by the architects and by the people who live in them."