Making A Difference

It’s that time of year, the holidays and all, when you either love it or could leave it! For some whose quality of life is not an acceptable or desirable standard whether for health reasons, financial status, the loss of a loved one or abusive relationships, it is difficult to achieve a state of happy and cheerful. For those in just such a state, remaining cheery while watching others around them who are happy and have so much; to speak of good times, laughter, great gifts and an abundance of food and cheer can lead to further feelings of despair. Unfortunately, we often forget how much we do have, how fortunate we are while wishing for more or better.

Why not make the holidays a time to remember and remind others these are times for giving, sharing and helping others. Lending a helping hand to anyone at all, whether or not they are less fortunate then oneself. Reminding ourselves how fortunate we are to have what we do have rather than what we don’t have can be the start to getting into the spirit of the holiday season. Smiling and opening a door for someone and/or wishing them well, will be the link that strengthens the chain; causing a reaction of cheer and raising the holiday spirit in all.

Wishing others well, reminds me of a show I watched recently (a true story) of an eight year old boy Tommy who was dealing with a horrible disease (lymphoma) cancer of the lymph nodes. Tommy was a happy child despite his illness. He made the most of every moment he had; laughing and playing with family and friends. Tommy was asked, “If you could have just one wish, what would you wish for?” Tommy replied, “I wish that my mom wouldn’t be sad.” An incredibly selfless request made by a child who will never have the opportunity to grow up, a child who could teach us so much.

Dial One Wolfedale Electric (one of Ontario’s largest non union, Design Build/Construction and Service Electrical Contractors) and team spread the cheer every day. Wolfedale continues their involvement in numerous community, and charity fund raising campaigns reaching out to those in need all year. In September of this year (2011) this widely diversified electrical contractor raised the bar once again with their fund raising auction for Starlight Children’s Foundation of Canada http://www.starlightcanada.ca/. Wolfedale Electric (a one stop shop electrical contractor) with the help and support of suppliers/partners and customers reached deep into their pockets raising $3,500.00 for the foundation. The funds raised were given to 15-year-old Kayla, who is suffering from Systemic Lupus Erythematous. Kayla undergoes daily challenges because of her health condition and Wolfedale Electric is honoured to assist her and her family by providing a brief escape from her disease.

Once again with the cold weather and holiday season nearing, Dial One Wolfedale Electric was found sponsoring a food drive for the Mississauga Food Bank, raising over 600lbs of food for those less fortunate. As well Wolfedale Electric left no stones unturned with their efforts in sponsoring a winter clothing/coat and blanket drive. Bounties of new and gently used items were raised by none other than the Innovative Wolfedale team (specializing in Industrial/Material Handling and Planned Maintenance) and received appreciatively by New Circles in Toronto http://www.newcircles.ca/.

Dial One Wolfedale Electric Gives You the Power to: help yourself - help others!  What are you doing to make a difference?

Eventful Times

I have been a member of Dial One Wolfedale Electric’s Social Committee since my first year of employment with the company in 1998. I have enjoyed everything that we as a committee have done throughout the years. The members of the social committee are responsible to plan annual events and secure venues that will engage the employees of Wolfedale Electric. With a company of 100 to 150 employees and their families at varying times throughout the year choosing and planning successful and safe events can be a huge task made easier by the formation of our Social Committee. Requesting feedback and suggestions from our field and office staff about prior events and new events helps to ensure we are considering everyone, of all ages finding events/activities that will be enjoyed by all.

Approaching the end of 2011, we now look back at our events for the year:

A successful Christmas party; a wonderful venue and new activity (Picture Booth) was the ultimate party maker. Wolfedale employees engaged in laughter and fun while dressing up and posing for the Picture Machine. Let’s not forget about the reindeer in the lobby of the hall which received many kisses from the employees, some more than once.

In the summer of 2011 we held our annual Picnic at Canada’s Wonderland; a popular venue two years in a row. Once again this popular venue proved to be a huge success for the employees of Wolfedale Electric and their family members of all ages. Stomach twisting rolling hills and thrilling climbs of coaster rides left expressions of anticipation and excitement on the faces of all. The face painting and washable tattoos were a huge success when everyone gathered to enjoy a tasty and social lunch.



Picnic 2010



Christmas Party 2010



With 2011 events having come to an end we now look forward to planning/choosing our venues, for 2012. As part of the committees planning skills, we pick and choose through a variety of venues for annual picnics, Christmas parties and possible in between events and activities. Although time consuming visiting a variety of venues can be very interesting viewing décor, sometimes trying menu items and of course choosing from a variety of forms of entertainment; Handwriting analysis, Shoe

readings as well as some things we have done in the past; Picture Booth, Dress Up DJ’s, and more.

As with anything we do there are a number of tasks to complete; working with others, discussing ideas, planning, scheduling, reviewing and implementation are all part of any success!

Daphne Mansfield

Receptionist

dmansfield@dialonewolfedale.com

Dial One Wolfedale Electric

Giving You the Power!

What your Blackberry can do for you

I have been an employee at Wolfedale Electric for just over 7 years. When I started the foreman and project managers were using the old ‘Mike’ style handsets. As technology evolves we; our Foremen, Project Managers, and Lead Hands have jumped into the era of Blackberry Smartphone, each having little or no practical hands on instruction due to time constraints. As a company, the transition from the ‘old’ style cell phones to the new Blackberry Smartphone, we have had our share of growing pains due to lack of information. I myself have been a Blackberry user for about 8 years. I have always found they serve as a very useful tool; a great resource of information when in a pinch. I felt by writing this blog I could provide everyone some insight into exactly what your BB (blackberry) can do and how it can make your life easier.

First let’s walk through some set-up directions:
Choosing/creating a ‘Blackberry ID’; this is the e-mail address you will use to sign in and download ‘apps’ in the blackberry app store. Scroll down to the bottom right side of the sign in screen and click or tap (depending on your device) on the ‘create new id’ icon. After you have this set-up you can go into your set-up screen and set your e-mail address(s) up accordingly, of course to do this you will need your e-mail address and password for the account.

Helpful ‘apps’- Some pre-loaded on your smart phone/others available for free download. The most important app that I have found for the blackberry is under your ‘applications’ folder, it is called ‘Blackberry Protect’. What this app allows you to do is enter your primary e-mail for the phone and set up an account of sorts. This app will automatically back up all the information on your device, including BBM (blackberry messenger) contacts, and save them to the account you have created. This account is available from any PC by entering your login information; it is run and kept secure by Research in Motion (RIM), makers of the blackberry. This is a particularly important app as I know many of us ‘forget’ or don’t find the time to sync and back up our blackberry’s regularly or if you ever lose your BB or it gets damaged and requires replaced.

Jackie (President of Dial One Wolfedale Electric) will appreciate this next app – GasBuddy; everyone with a gas card has the ability to search from their current location for the closest gas station and one with the best gas prices.

Another fun to use app: the VLingo. This app is similar to what that ‘other’ Smartphone company has where you can speak to the app and it can do a variety of things such as schedule meetings, lunches, or any type of activity you like. It will also send txt messages, e-mails or meeting requests, all with the touch of a button and by speaking to your phone!

Two other apps I highly recommend are Drive Safely and Documents to go. Documents to go comes preloaded on your phone and this app allows you to view, edit or create documents from your BB and send them to whoever you like, or yourself, this is especially handy when you find yourself stuck in a meeting and you need to get time sheets in to Monica (Office Administrator Dial One Wolfedale Electric.)

The DriveSafely app (which by the way is free until December 31) is for all of us BB junkies who can’t wait to read emails and text messages until we’ve finished driving. This function offers the capability to not only read messages it will also (in conjunction with app-Vlingo) allow you to respond to them without taking your eyes off the road, (how cool is that!)

Now forgetting appointments, being late for meetings and not completing items on your list of things to do, are a thing of the past. Your BB Smartphone comes complete with built in calendar, memo pad and task creator to help you stay organized, on time and allow you to make up ‘To Do’ lists while on the go. These apps also tie directly in with your Outlook e-mail which allows you to upload and download all the To Do lists or tasks you already have on your computer.

In addition to the above apps I have one other function (as it is a pet peeve of mine) that many may find quite useful. No one need know whether your emails are being sent via your BB device or PC with your signature edit on your BB device. You just need to go into the e-mail set-up tab on your phone and then click on or tap, the appropriate e-mail address in choose ‘edit’ this will allow you to set your name, signature, auto CC or any other features that outlook would let you choose.

Now for the best part, RIM is a locally owned and operated company based in Waterloo Ontario. They have brought a lot of jobs to the region and they continue to grow and contribute to the community. Why are so many people supporting the ‘other’ smartphone maker? Well the most common reason I hear is “look at all the apps they have” or “the IPhone is so cool”. I do agree that the iPhone has unlimited apps and does look pretty cool, however I can honestly say that the Blackberry is perfect for the average ‘Business Professional’ and Trades Person.

Thank you for your time and I hope this gave you some more insight into what your blackberry can do for you!

Pieter Mueleman
Project Manager & Estimator
pmueleman@dialonewolfedale.com
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
Giving You the Power!

Wolfedale Processes

I have been an employee at Wolfedale Electric for 26 years and watched the company grow in size (people & sales) and mature into a thriving electrical contracting business. With growth came the need for more structure and processes to ensure our electrical projects were completed on time, efficiently, and profitably.

Wolfedale worked with MRSI Consulting Company   www.mrsiconsulting.com/ to help pull all of these systems together. MRSI reviewed everything from a job numbering system, to quote procedures, to billing processes for all departments including 24 hour Emergency, Planned Maintenance, Construction Design/Build, Industrial Process and Material Handling. Nothing was left unturned as we worked through how things were done here at Wolfedale.

One of the biggest flaws we found was a process to “turn a project over” from Wolfedale’s sales staff to our operations group. We found that we had a poor way of getting the information that our sales/estimating staff had about a project and getting it into our operations hands. After hours of debate we inked out a flowchart that would allow a smoother transition and a better understanding of what had been sold. The key to the whole process was time. Everyone gets busy and our customers were leaving us less and less time to organize and start our projects. Wolfedale has implemented a process to have all related parties (sales/project management/foreman) attend a meeting before the job starts and all information is to be shared down to the last detail. We have implemented checklists to be completed and incorporated into the appropriate job file for on-going reference.

After starting this process our foremen are more comfortable with the customer deadlines and expectations and our sales and project management staff know our customer will receive what they require.

We are not perfect and have allowed a few jobs slip through the process (no start-up meeting or weak at best) and we have paid for it. It costs Wolfedale time, money and puts us in a tough spot meeting our customers’ needs. Our goal is to continue to close the gap between sales and operations and ultimately improve our customers’ experience.

Jim Graham
Vice President Operations
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
905-564-8999 ext 223
Giving You the Power.

Choosing the Right Solar Installer!

In Ontario Solar systems are being constructed everywhere. They are on houses, barns, industrial rooftops, store rooftops, farmer’s fields and, even on the front lawn of some home owners with large properties. The question that is often asked, “Does it really Work?” The short answer is “Absolutely.” When the sun comes up Photovoltaic cells will produce energy. How much energy depends on the quality and design of the installation. Deciding on the right installer can be the difference between a good or bad installation that is part of a Feed in Tariff program.  A question to ask here would be: “Am I making as much $$$$ as possible?” In a standalone system in areas that are off grid a question to ask would be “Am I going to produce enough energy to watch the Hockey Game?” Either system will begin with choosing the right installer.

Dial One Wolfedale Electric Gives You the Power to: Choose the Right Solar Installer!

Design- Wolfedale Electric pays attention to the design; shading performance, future shading issues (trees do grow), does it face south? There are many tools to assist with a design. Wolfedale incorporates the proper tools to design a system specifically for the individual needs of each client.  Whatever way your installer uses, they should be able to explain it to you.

Engineering - When looking at every solar installation Wolfedale has the investigating tools and engineering experience necessary to ensure each and every system guarantees our client will get the most out of their design process:

•  A process that considers Mother Nature and all other factors Wolfedale makes certain that your investment will translate to a favorable payback; ensuring the structure of a roof top has the stability/strength required for a solar installation.
• On a ground mount Wolfedale considers the winds and nature for each solar installation.
• A simplified explanation of the installation process to the client; allowing for informative decision making.

Electrical – The purpose of your solar installation is to produce electricity; requires the proper electrical installation; Wolfedale makes certain an installation is done right:

• Wolfedale ensures the project installation (whether through the FIT program-feed in tariff or off grid) will produce the electricity which can and will generate/replace power usage from the grid or generate the power to ensure the investment is profitable.
• Wolfedale provides the knowledge of proper wiring methods as required and regulated by code; using only licensed electricians, registered with ESA and a member of the OEL. Connection to a grid must be done by a qualified electrical contractor, choosing Wolfedale for your installation ensures your installation is always completed by licensed electricians in cooperation/regulation with the proper authorities; maintaining safety as a priority for our employees and customer alike.
• Wolfedale will guarantee proper inspections are being done throughout the entire project.
• Solar (like any electrical installation) has the ability to cause injury to installers and damage to equipment. The short circuit of one string can be “shocking”. Example (video above) - of a poor install (what not to do)!
• Wolfedale will make sure that the proper equipment is always being used, (not all equipment is rated for the higher DC voltages that are present with most PV installations).                                                                                                                                                                                  

Support – Dial One Wolfedale Electric partners with dependable and trust worthy suppliers and manufactures to ensure that our clients receive the right support and warranty for their project:

• Wolfedale recognizes that each installation is different and requires a custom support system for each client.
• Wolfedale while providing the necessary support; recognizes the need for “tweaking” with each installation to ensure viability.
• Maintenance as with any installation is a critical process Wolfedale suggests to clients to plan for high performance and longevity of all electrical systems.

Experience - Choosing the right installer:
Does your installer have experience to ensure that you (the customer) will be a priority? Will they have the experience to protect your assets? Will they abide by codes; the knowledge and experience to eliminate the possibility of injury ensuring the safety of all? Will they apply enough time to review your project, to avoid costly delays?

Dial One Wolfedale Electric Gives You the Power to complete your project Safely, On Time and On Budget!

Mike Roden
Project Manager
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
Giving You the Power!

Giving You the Power

Wolfedale believes in “Giving You the Power” to make informed decisions around the electrical systems within your facilities. We do this by increasing your efficiency, improving safety on your sites, minimizing your downtime and reducing your risk. We believe our competitive advantage encompasses:

Our ability. To help our clients have the “power to choose”.
Wolfedale Electric’s goal is to work efficiently and effectively to address your electrical needs. Our Service Department achieves at 96% response rate to all emergency calls within a two hour window. We strive to ensure we are on time and within your budget. In our New Construction Design Build department, we implement a value engineering step to ensure we are maximizing your dollars to the best of our ability. Within all of our departments, we ensure the work is done right the first time. Our warranty costs are essentially nonexistent, with a rate of 2/100 of 1% being the costs we have spent to repair work done in the past three years.

Our people. We believe in giving them the “ power to grow”.

Our employees are qualified Electricians and Apprentices and we encourage them to learn a wide range of disciplines to assist in virtually every technical area of our clients’ needs. Our employees receive ongoing training in all aspects of electrical safety including health & safety regulations, safety equipment, arc flash hazards and more. This ensures the safest possible work environment for our customer’s job sites and facilities. For the past 2 years, our WSIB rate was 91% above industry average in Ontario (July 2011).

Our vendors. We believe in the “power of partnerships”.
Our vendors share our goal of customer satisfaction. They go the extra mile to work with Wolfedale to support our customers’ needs and we truly appreciate their support. Whether it’s equipment delivery dates or access to parts for emergency calls, our relationships are based on partnerships which ensure overall success for everyone. Our top 3 suppliers have been the same for more than 20 years.

Our industry. Wolfedale believes in the “power of co-operation”.

We help to improve standards across our industry by working cooperatively with the Ontario Electrical League and the Electrical Safety Authority. We keep up with incentive programs within our industry and bring you opportunities for savings. In our lighting retrofit department, we have been able to help our clients find over $800,000.00 in incentive money from the local programs with the Ontario Power Authority. https://www.saveonenergy.ca/Business/Program-Overviews/Retrofit-for-Commercial.aspx

Dial One Wolfedale’s philosophy is simple: we give you the power to make informed decisions. We provide you with highly skilled professionals that determine the safest and most efficient approach to completing each job. We offer you our services at a competitive price and we do your work right – the first time, every time.

Isn’t it time you got the Power?

As Your Company "Grows Up"

As your company “grows up”, so will your need for improved budgeting and financial planning tools. The more departments, products, services, and people you have, the more complicated it is to pull together a budget.

At Wolfedale Electric, we spend a great deal of time planning for the future. We make strategic and operations plans, and turn them into the financial budget that is necessary to track results against. Typically I would develop our annual budget in Excel. This was becoming increasingly difficult as the Excel model grew with the complexity of our business. It became hard to maintain the integrity of all the formulas, links, and pages. One mistake, omission, or accidental deletion would cause the account level details to not roll up properly. Finding the problem was often like finding a needle in a haystack.
Another shortcoming was that our budget was an annual budget - twelve months long. It became progressively near sighted as each month of the fiscal year went by. That makes little sense when your business planning is continuous and should always be looking out at least a year.

Lastly, our budget was only about sales, margin, expenses, and net income. What about assets, liabilities, and equity? There are some important things in there. Like cash!

I’m excited to have found a solution. It’s Budget Maestro from Centage Corporation. This slick software has some great features. It has a five year planning horizon. It’s integrated so the budget details are in the budget itself, not on separate working papers. It’s inherently accurate with no formulas to worry about. It uses a double entry (debit and credit) basis to automatically budget the balance sheet. Enter a budget expense item and the software makes the correct balance sheet entry! It has features for personnel expenses, assets and sales. You can budget increases on just about any basis. Want widget sales to increase 2 % a quarter over the next three years? Done! “What- if” scenarios are built in. Need a Plan B because your business situation is changing? No sweat!

Like most new business applications, it came with a considerable learning curve. I have put a lot of hours into understanding how it works and recently developing my first budget in it. I’m happy I can see the top of the curve now and its actually becoming easy. And it still has so many untapped capabilities.

If your company has outgrown doing its budget on a table napkin, spreadsheet, or whatever, I encourage you to look for a solution, and you might want to look at this one. At first sight it’s a bit pricey at about $4,000. But you can expect this to pay off in time savings, and better business planning - which means better business results. So if you can find it in your budget, I think it’s worth it!
Here’s a link to it if you’re interested: http://centage.com/products-budget-maestro-overview.htm

Mark Benson
Controller
Dial One Wolfedale Electric

Giving You the Power.

Safety at Wolfedale – Not Just “Lip Service”

“We’re safety oriented”. “We’re safety focused”. “Safety is our number one priority”. We’ve all heard it before. Companies everywhere assert that safety is a number one priority in their business. But is that true or just lip service?

Let us be honest with you; Wolfedale is in a dangerous industry – period. Electrical work is an inherently dangerous trade to do business in. Electricity can sneak up on you fast and without warning. Electricity does not discriminate based on nationality, nor does it care what the circumstances are or that you’re a great guy and should have a chance to live a long and healthy life. If you do something wrong, you may not get the chance to “learn from your mistake” and do it right in the future. You may be dead.

In the electrical industry today, it's unfortunate that there are still companies out there who just don’t get it. These companies will continue to compromise safety on some jobsites to save a buck and make a profit. These are the companies that the public needs to be aware of and to steer clear of. But how? One safeguard is for companies to check with the Electrical Safety Authority (http://esasafe.com/) and searching the Licensed Electrical Contractor listing to ensure that their contractor of choice has been recognized as a preferred contractor. Any approved contractor listed will have an Electrical Contractor Registration Agency (ECRA) number, which indicates that the contractor has met strict guidelines within the province around quality & safety. http://applications.dmtispatial.com/esa/  And yes, Wolfedale is on that list. Our ECRA number is #7000 658.

So, what does Wolfedale do that’s different? The key difference is that we make a point of doing it. We do regular jobsite inspections, we have weekly safety meetings called Toolbox Talks, we have a Joint Health & Safety Committee with certified members and we have an outside agency that audits us to ensure that we’re doing the right things – right. And we’re introducing a new position to the company in the fall of 2011 in the form of a dedicated Health & Safety Representative to ensure that we’re focused on safety. Are we perfect? No. No one can be. We can always be better and Wolfedale is always striving to improve. And we have been very fortunate to have an employee group who make a point of working safely every day so that they can go home to their families every night. That’s something that they believe in on a personal level and they live it every day.

At Wolfedale, our first core value is Safety and we often say, “Safety First. Safety Always.” Is that just lip service with a catchy phrase to go along with it? I can honestly say that safety is a focus in our company that we believe in and we would be proud to tell you all about it. Give us a call and ask us some questions. We’re happy to share our knowledge.

Allyson Rea
Human Resources Manager/Health and Safety
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
Giving You the Power!

Dial One Wolfedale: PLANNED MAINTENANCE - A MISCONCEPTION?

Dial One Wolfedale: PLANNED MAINTENANCE - A MISCONCEPTION?: More than 30 years ago Wolfedale was called out to an emergency call for a power outage caused by a blown transformer (a critical component...

PLANNED MAINTENANCE - A MISCONCEPTION?

More than 30 years ago Wolfedale was called out to an emergency call for a power outage caused by a blown transformer (a critical component to the operation of the business). After several days of downtime, losses incurred by both the business and customers of the business in the hundredths of thousands of dollars the company was back in operation. From that day forward Wolfedale continues to perform an annual maintenance program with this customer at a mere $2500.00.

Several years ago, we were called in to perform thermal infrared imaging for a business’s electrical distribution system as part of an insurance recommendation. Our technician found a fusible disconnect, overheating, requiring immediate replacement. On the day of the replacement our technicians were not surprised to find the heat built up in this switch caused the fuse to disintegrate on removal. It was fortunate that this switch had not blown during operating hours. The damage could have been catastrophic to workers as well as the impact it would have had on the business.

Do you manage the maintenance of your vehicle? Why? The satisfaction of knowing that a properly maintained vehicle, regular oil changes etc., will increase the longevity of it while reducing your expenses. You have the confidence of knowing that you will continue to get to work, after all, without that paycheck you can’t afford your vehicle and the remainder of items you enjoy.   Wouldn't you like the same piece of mind with your business?

Electrical planned maintenance is an integral part of any business. The primary goal of a scheduled maintenance program is aimed at the prevention of electrical breakdowns and failures as well as ensuring that your facilities electrical systems are operating safely. It is designed to enhance equipment reliability by identifying potentially faulty components and conditions before they actually fail resulting in costly downtime and repairs, and in extreme cases, causing injury to colleagues and friends. The misconception……don’t fix what isn’t broke is just that, a misconception.

So, ask yourself this, how much does 1 hour of unscheduled downtime cost coupled with loss of productivity to you and your customer, the cost of emergency repair services and rush delivery parts? The numbers will speak for themselves.

Dial One Wolfedale Electric Giving You the Power to choose, reliability and safety. We have the knowledge, the tools, and the resources, you have the power to make the choice that works!
Can you afford NOT to have a Planned Maintenance program?

Jason Cunningham
Service Manager
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
905-564-8999

Why We Chose ISO 9001:2000

ISO 9001:2000 is a standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization to help ensure businesses meet the needs of their customers. The number of companies receiving certification by December 2000 was over 450,000. That number more than doubled in December 2009 to 1,064,000. These forms of standardization are a pre-requisite for many businesses to work together in various industries. In order to become certified an external audit by an Accredited Certification Body is performed. These audits are performed every 3 years for recertification.

Developing and managing processes and a corrective/preventive reporting system throughout the company with an internal audit system performed by internally trained staff will help determine which of the processes are working and which need improvement. Non – conformances can be any process not being followed properly, for example; supplier returns not being returned in a timely fashion or not at all. The ISO Committee would review the issues and come up with a new process on how better to deal with supplier returns. The process would be implemented making staff aware of the new process. The process would then be reviewed at a later date to determine its effectiveness. This control of company documents/records as well as monitoring non-conformances creates a more efficient and effective operation providing consistently well above average customer satisfaction.

Dial One Wolfedale Electric became ISO certified in 2001. To date Wolfedale maintains ISO compliancy following and maintaining a quality management system developed specifically for their use throughout the company. Always striving to improve these standard practices allows us to provide our customers with consistently safe and quality workmanship. Dial One Wolfedale Electric Gives the Power  to our customers to choose piece of mind knowing that we are doing our very best to provide them with quality service.

The proof is in the repeat business and the documentation/testimonials received from our customers on a job well done or a thank you for getting the job done on time and on budget!

Monica Mercer
Administrative Assistant
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
Giving You the Power!

History of Solar

The ancient Greek and Native Americans were the first to use solar power to their benefit, dating back as early as 400BC. It wasn’t until 1776 that the first solar collector was built by a gentleman named Horace de Saussare.

It was during the later half of the 1950’s that solar power saw its first mainstream usage. The first solar water heated office building was built during this time by an architect named Frank Bridgers.
Later there was a process that produced pure crystalline silicone and by 1954 Bell Telephone Laboratories had developed a silicon photovoltaic cell that had a four percent efficiency that was later boosted to an 11% efficiency.

Solar power saw a rebirth in the 1970’s with the oil embargo. This was a great opportunity to utilize solar power; in fact the US Department of Energy financed the Federal Photovoltaic Utilization Program. This program was responsible for the installation and testing of over 3,000 photovoltaic systems.

Germany is one of the world's top photovoltaics (PV) installers, with a solar PV capacity as of 2010 of almost 17,000 megawatts (MW). The German solar PV industry installed 7,400 MW from nearly one-quarter million individual systems in 2010, and solar PV provided 12 TWh (billion kilowatt-hours) of electricity in 2010, about 2% of total electricity.
Some market analysts expect this could reach 25 percent by 2050

Germany has also taken the bold step to begin eliminating their dependence on Nuclear Powered energy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced the country will move to phase out all nuclear power by 2022.

Solar power in the United States is an area of considerable activity and there are many utility-scale solar power plants. The largest solar power installation in the world is the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility in California, which has a total capacity of 354 megawatts (MW). Nevada Solar One is a solar thermal plant with a 64 MW generating capacity, located near Boulder City, Nevada. The Copper Mountain Solar Facility is a 48 MW photovoltaic solar power facility in Boulder City, Nevada. The DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center is a 25 MW photovoltaic solar power facility in DeSoto County, Florida.

The Blythe Solar Power Project is a 500 MW photovoltaic power station under construction in Riverside County, California. The Ivanpah Solar Power Facility is a 392 MW solar thermal power facility which is under construction in south-eastern California. The Solana Generating Station is a 280 MW solar power plant which is under construction about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Phoenix, Arizona. There are plans to build many other large solar plants in the United States. Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring California's utilities to get 33 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by the end of 2020.

In October 2009, the Ontario government launched the feed-in tariff (FIT) and microFIT programs. This program is the first of its kind in North America to encourage the development of clean renewable energy. The FIT program is intended for installations over 10 kW, while the microFIT program is to encourage the development of micro-scale renewable energy projects, such as residential solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. The microFIT program provides a rate of $0.802/kWh for rooftop mounted solar panels. On July 2nd, 2010 the microFIT's program rate was lowered to $0.588/kWh by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). This new rate means consumers investing in solar energy through the Ontario MicroFit Program will experience a drop in profit margin from a 25% range to 10%.

Thanks to the Ontario FIT program, Canada is the home of the largest solar farm in the world (as of October 2010). Located in Sarnia, Ontario, the 80 megawatt Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant can power more than 12,000 homes.
Ontario may become the leading market for solar PV in North America in 2011, installing more than 400 MW of solar power. This would be nearly double that installed by California in 2010. With contracts on the books, Ontario is expected to reach 2,650 MW of solar PV by 2015.

500KW Rooftop Solar Array in Woodstock Ontario

80 MW Solar farm in Sarnia Ontario

“We possess the intelligence, courage, determination, and technology available to sustain many changes to our physical world for our children and generations to follow”
What are you doing to show our children the way? Stand Up for SOLAR!

Brian Cook
Senior Solar Expert
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
905-564-8999 ext 223
Giving You the Power!... to Change

Keep your head up!

I'd like to think that at the end of the day, I don't take my work home with me, but that's not necessarily the case when you're passionate about what you do. Inefficient lighting is a huge source of frustration for me. Whether eating in a restaurant, going shopping or strolling down the street, I have a habit of looking up I can't help notice lighting that is either expired, inefficient or even discontinued.
T12 fluorescent lighting is currently being phased out in North America. Both Canada and the U.S. have adopted regulations to discontinue the use of T12s. In Canada, NRCan revised the Energy Efficiency Act to limit regulations on T12 lamps and magnetic ballasts in 1993 and 1995 respectively. If your lighting fixtures are older than ten years, there's a good chance you may have T12s. Maintaining an inefficient T12 fluorescent lighting system is expensive and the necessity to change to a more energy efficient system is becoming more prevalent as remaining stocks of lamps and magnetic ballasts are depleted. The most common options are the efficient T8 or T5 fluorescent lighting and electronic ballasts.

More often than not the need for improving your business’s bottom line is the first step in moving towards, becoming a leader of energy savings. Lighting being one of the largest power consumers is also one of the most cost effective improvements that can turn around that bottom line. Initial outlay to complete any capital project has always been the main drawback to implementing any project. This no longer needs to be a problem. Why?

Fortunately, there are rebates available to help you make the change-over. Through the OPA's saveONenergy program, businesses can offset the costs of their retrofit projects to shorten their return on investment. When factoring in incentives, energy savings, maintenance savings and productivity increases due to improved lighting levels, the payback periods are very impressive.

Considering your lighting transition by replacing each light fixture as it burns out is not only an ineffective method of improving your energy efficiency and bottom line, but by doing so, you will no longer be eligible to receive funding. Once you have calculated all costs associated with completing your project in this manner (lift rentals, minimum labour rates to hire an electrician per fixture, ESA permits) as well, the loss in energy savings you could have saved completing your project on a one time basis. Are you LIGHTING the way to a more energy efficient company?

So the next time you're going to a restaurant, shopping or strolling down the street, look up and try to notice where energy is being wasted.  Just make sure you watch where you're going.

Chris LeBlanc
Energy Consultant
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
T 905-564-8999 x.284
M 647-214-0193
TF 1-800-303-7568 | F 905-564-5677
www.dialonewolfedale.com
Giving You the Power!

Completing the job properly

It’s my first kick at the can (not literally). I never would have guessed that twenty some years into my work at Wolfedale, I would be sitting here today blogging. Is this a good thing? Absolutely! I’m learning and broadening my horizons (so to speak). I have grown with Wolfedale through the lows and highs, the peaks and valleys in my various positions within the company. So, I ask myself, how will you benefit from my experience? In an industry with thousands of competitors Wolfedale continues in its efforts to remain loyal to and ensure their customer’s business is a priority. The valuable insight and knowledge I have gained through-out the years at Dial One Wolfedale Electric has afforded me the ability to share this wealth with our customers and my peers. “Giving You the Power to choose”...... the right contractor.

From beginning to end good strategic planning, processes and project management are implemented and continued throughout the project. I recall as an apprentice, filling out work orders and reports (at times it seemed endless) asking..... “Why do I need to fill out paper work?” I’m going to be an electrician. Shouldn’t paper work be completed by office people? I soon found how wrong I was and just as choosing reliable employees with good skill sets it’s all part of completing the job properly. Building a team of employees that have the same loyalty and values as the company is definitely crucial to the success of any project. Good relationships with suppliers and well maintained tools of the trade are all part of a process followed to help ensure guidelines and timelines are met. Taking precautions and specific measures where necessary Wolfedale ensures the customer’s safety and project needs are going to be met and that no employee or customer will be placed in harms’ way.

I can’t say that there is any one particular job through the years that stands out necessarily more then another. All projects have their challenges, ingenuities, innovations and great customer support. Our job is to work through the challenges with a great support team of customer and Wolfedale employees, providing the most effective and efficient solutions for our customers business. Overcoming obstacles and challenges producing exceptional results make us a better team, a better company, an electrical company of choice. For these and numerous other reasons Wolfedale Electric has become the number One electrical choice by many long term customers. It’s a Win, Win solution!

Russ Lock
Senior Account Manager
Dial One Wolfedale Electric
905-564-8999 ext
rlock@dialonewolfedale.com
Giving You the Power!

Giving You the Power to Choose

Every business wants to be certain that they choose the right vendor and receive the right pricing for the work they award. Dial One Wolfedale Electric gives our customers the power to do just that. How? By Giving You the Power to choose.

Dial One Wolfedale Electric provides you with the information you need to make informed decisions so you can choose the best approach for your projects based on your short and long term needs and budget. That is how we build the trust-based relationships our customers appreciate.

Our Giving You the Power philosophy extends to our employees, vendors and industry colleagues. We give our talented people the power to grow and learn so they have the opportunity to develop standard and specialized skill sets – as a result, our expert team is always ready to be assigned to your projects. We give our vendors the power of partnership; through these strong relationships we are able to better serve your business with shorter lead times and reliable supply. We give our industry the power of co-operation, taking a leadership position on issues of vital importance to us and to you, such as safety.

Dial One Wolfedale Electric – Giving YOU the Power!