A Hay River inventor is ready to once again begin sales of a new way to conveniently bring wood pellets into homes.
Robert Chenard calls the system Pellets On Demand.
Chenard had previously sold two systems a couple of years ago before discovering he needed approval for an electrical component from the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).
NNSL file photo
That approval was received just before Christmas following testing in Vancouver.
“It went pretty well,” said Chenard. “There was a process of about two or three weeks.
“It’s quite a long process because that’s the Canadian Standards Association, and they basically went through everything, including the type of plastic that we use for the enclosure for the motor outside, all the electrical components that were used to make sure that it complies with their standards.”
Chenard noted that, now that the system has CSA approval, sales can begin.
“It means we are now cleared to do sales and installation with the type of system that went through the testing,” he said.
Pellets On Demand features a fibreglass hopper, which can hold one tonne of wood pellets outside a home, and an inside wall-mounted unit for a homeowner to access the pellets, which are moved around the system by negative pressure, otherwise known as a vacuum.
Chenard makes the hoppers and wall-mounted units at his workshop in Old Town.
The inventor, who has been working on the system for three years, will be using Hay River and area as a launching pad for the new product.
A display model will be installed this week at Hay River Home Hardware.
“That is very important because at that location there’s lots of traffic,” said Chenard. “It’s not only for Hay River, but people coming from other communities on a regular basis.”
As for the two systems he previously sold, they have been replaced with the CSA-approved model.
The main benefits of the Pellets On Demand system are it eliminates the need for homeowners to carry bags of wood pellets into their houses and to have pallets of bags on their properties.