Plan to take part in the the world's largest grassroots solar event on Saturday, October 1. The National Solar Tour lets you see how you can use solar energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable technologies in your home.
According to the American Solar Energy Society, in conjunction with the National Energy Awareness Month,
"an increasing focus of the tour is on energy-saving techniques and sustainability through green building design, energy efficient appliances, and use of green materials during remodeling. Tours also provide helpful, real-world examples of costs and how to save money with federal, state, and local incentives."
The Maine Solar Tour
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Part of ASES National Solar Home Tour and NESEA Green Building Open House
~ All tours are free of charge.
~ Sites are open 9 AM to 5 PM unless otherwise noted.
~ All phone numbers are the 207 area code, unless noted.
~ Terms used:
- PV = photovoltaic (i.e. turning sunlight into electricity)
- kW = 1,000 watts (a measure of power)
- kWh = 1,000 watt-hours (a measure of energy)
- grid tied = connected to the public electricity grid
- AC = alternating current (e.g. electricity on the grid)
- DC = direct current (e.g. electricity from solar panels)
- inverter = a device to convert DC to AC power
- ICE = internal combustion engine
- thermal = converting sunlight into heat
- domestic hot water = hot water for sinks, showers, etc.
- LEED = Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design
Tour I: Acadia Region
Organizer: Frank John, 185 Flye Point Rd., Brooklin, ME 04616
Phone: 359-8968, E-mail: maine.johns@gmail.com
Site I-1. Brooklin, 185 Flye Point Road.
Owners: Frank and Shari John, 359-8968
Frank and Shari have two PV systems: the first is 1.92 kW grid-tied system with a battery bank. A second grid-tied array was added in early 2010, a 3.68 kW nominal feeding a 4 kW Fronius inverter. They use a Tarm wood gasification boiler to heat their house and provide domestic hot water year 'round. They will also have electric vehicles on display (Toyota Pickup, Suzuki motorcycle and a bicycle!).
Site I-2. East Blue Hill, 45 Clayfield Road.
Owner: Arnold Greenberg, 374-5170
This off-grid home uses energy efficient appliances and a 1500 watt photovoltaic array. Arnold has lived off-grid since 2000. Clayfield Road is off Jay Carter Road.
Site I-3. Blue Hill, 219 Kingdom Road.
Owner: Dick Bartlett 374-3230 (Kingdom Bikes)
This home has a 2 kW grid-tied system with backup and evacuated tubes to heat domestic hot water. It is a very efficient home.
Site I-4. Hancock, Three Pines Bed & Breakfast 274 East Side Road.
Owners: Ed and Karen Curtis, 460-7595
We live in an off-grid, 1.7 kW solar electric, passive solar timberframe home, with battery storage and generator backup. We operate a year-round bed & breakfast, have an organic vegetable garden and fruit orchard, and raise rare-breed sheep and chickens. http://www.threepinesbandb.com
Site I-5. Little Deer Isle, Coveside Lane.
Owners: Kimball Petty / Deb Marshall, 348-2648
This grid-tied system has a 900 W wind generator, a 1.3 kW grid-tie PV system with battery back up and a new 4.7 kW direct grid tie system. All small ICE on lawn mowers etc. have been replaced with electric . There are 3 vintage GE Electrak electric tractors and attachments to see as well a solar electric 16' converted electric outboard boat and an electric launch. There
is a 1985 VW vanagon being converted to electric that can be seen.
Site I-6. Sedgwick, 91 Bayview Ave.
Owners: Ann Logan & Chris Eckels
Ann and Chris have a lovely new 3-story home using a 90 evacuated tube array to provide domestic hot water and to assist with their radiant heating system. More info at: www.downeastsolarhome.com
Site I-7. Salisbury Cove, 43 Bay View Dr.
Owner: ?ue Turner
This is a rammed earth home with 5.06 kW of photovoltaics and a 60-tube solar hot water array with a SuperStor storage tank and an electric boiler.
Site I-8. Penobscot, 150 Pierces Pond Road.
Owners: Carsten & Joanne Steenberg, 266-0225
This lovely home has a 20-panel PV system. More info at: http://dragonflycovehomes.com/pierce_pond_home.htm and
Tour II: Central Maine
Organizer: Claudia Lowd, Orono, ME
Phone: 949-5106, Email: claudia@mainerural.org
Site II-1. Brooks, 75 Hall Hill Road.
Owner: Peter Baldwin, 722-3654
Peter's off-grid passive solar home has a 600-watt PV array assembled over the years, a 256 sq. ft. solar water heater and a large wind generator. Peter is always experimenting with new ways to use renewable energy in his life.
Site II-2. Hampden, 188 Emerson Mill Rd.
Owner: Lee Landry, 589-4171 or 570-4222
9:00 am to 12:00 PM ONLY thanks!
Part Owner/Solid Fuel Projects Supervisor ReVision Energy LLC (1.5 m. from Dysart's) 60-tube Apricus evacuated tube solar thermal array on a 105 gallon storage tank.
Site II-3. Orono, Main View Apartments, 95 Main St.
Owner: Richard Pare, 866-5651 or Claudia Lowd 949-5106
Tour Hours 12-3:00 PM ONLY thanks!
This 24-unit commercial apartment building has an active 48-panel evacuated tube solar thermal array installed in 1988 which creates all the domestic hot water for all 24 apartments all year round and pre-heats the water being used in the forced hot-water baseboard heating system.
Site II-4. Orono, 22 Mill Street.
Owners: Roberta/John Bradson, 866-4110
The Store-Ampersand A commercial bakery and coffee shop with a large passive solar entrance. It works so well that the entire first floor of the store needs no heat all winter.
Site II-5. Orono, 29 Gilbert Street
Owner: Cindy Carusi, 866-0608
The collector on the roof is a 40-tube evacuated tube solar thermal array. The tank in the cellar is an 80-gallon Steibel-Eltron storage tank and pumping station. It's all connected to the furnace, which kicks in when there isn't enough solar heating.
Tour III: Downeast
Organizer: Richard Komp, 17 Rockwell Rd SE, Jonesport ME 04649.
Phone: 497- 2204, Email: sunwatt@juno.com, Web: www.mainesolar.org
Site III-1. Harrington, 44 Heron Cove Rd.
Owners: Leonore Hildebrandt / Robert Froese, 610-2929
This 2500 sq.ft. home was designed and built in 1990 by the owners. It is off-grid with a 900 watt PV system and heated by passive solar energy backed by a wood stove. Robert and Leonore, both writers (www.flatbaycollective.org), have practiced sustainable living for over 20 years -- harvesting firewood, caring for fruit trees, and growing a vegetable garden.
Site III-2. Jonesboro, 262 Looks Point Road.
Owners: Lee and Jody Rose, 434-5444
This home features flat plate solar hot water collectors for domestic hot water and to heat an indoor heated pool. This home also uses a high-efficiency gasification wood boiler to provide most of the home’s heat and back-up domestic hot water usage. 1/4 mile gravel drive. May have to use pull-off. Look out for walkers in the area.
Site III-3. Jonesport, 17 Rockwell Road SE.
Owner: Richard Komp, 497-2204
Home self-designed and built in 1988 with 500 watt off-grid PV, passive solar heating and 4 TAP air heaters, 'Hypocaust' under-floor thermal mass, wood backup, and PV/thermal hybrid for hot water. Featured in the May-June 1997 Solar Today. Look for signs.
Site III-4. Kennebec (Machias), 35 Cross Road (Bobcat Pass)
Owner: Gillian Gatto, 255-4515
This is an owner-built passive solar home with a large solar dome studio for Gillian's woodprints and other art work. The indoor bathroom has a composting toilet and thermosyphon water heating system from the wood cookstove. A 200 watt off-grid PV system with inverter.
Site III-5. East Machias, Downeast Salmon Foundation, East Machias Aquatic Research Center, 13 Willow Street.
483-4336, dsf@panax.com, www.mainesalmonrivers.org
This building was the powerhouse for a hydroelectric dam that was removed to make it possible for atlantic salmon to swim up the east branch of the Machias river. A large 240 volt AC grid intertie PV system plus a vertical axis wind generator furnish almost all the electric power and passive solar south windows aid with winter heating.
Site III-6. Stuben, 62 Sunset Bay Drive.
Owner: Tom Hitchins
Type of Building: This superinsulated residence is constructed with an Insulated Concrete Form basement and a Structural Insulated Panel shell. Green materials were used where reasonable. House is heated by high efficiency condensing boiler using propane, and a soapstone Rais woodstove. Hot water is solar with propane back-up.
Tour IV: Kennebec Valley
Organizer: MeSEA 497-2204 Tour Hours: 10 am – 4 pm.
Site IV-1. Hallowell, 11 Inn Road.
Owner: Scott Cowger, Call 800-622-2708 or visit www.maplebb.com for directions.
Maple Hill Farm Bed & Breakfast: A full-service inn and conference center with a heavy demand for energy. The innkeeper is a former State Representative. Maple Hill Farm was the first DEP certified 'Environmental Leader' green lodging establishment in Maine, meeting such criteria as energy efficient upgrades, the usage of non toxic cleaning products and reduced energy usage.
In 2003 the owners decided to decrease energy costs as well as their carbon footprint by installing a large 10 kW Bergey wind turbine atop a 100 foot tubular steel tower on the high point of their land, 1000 feet from the buildings. In 2006, they added extensive solar electric and solar hot water systems to the property.
The largest solar power array in the state, it has 15 kW of electrical generating capacity, and 202 vacuum tubes for domestic hot water production with 320 gallons of hot water storage in the basement, saving more than $20,000 in power costs over the past two years. Their system saves a tremendous amount of fuel oil (for hot water production) and offsets about half the electrical needs of the facility. You can monitor the output of the solar electric system, as well as view details of all the system components and get directions on their web site at www.maplebb.com.
Site IV-2. Palermo, 401 Marden Hill.
Owner: Paul Armstrong, 993-2803
Contemporary 3,000 sq ft house, built in stages since 1994 as time & money allowed. Hillside site allows enjoyment of outrageous views & good breezes. CMP wanted the cost of a house mortgage to bring power, prodding us to alternatives. Starting with a generator we have added photovoltaics & a wind turbine for our current 'tri-bred' system. Recycled lumber used in construction.
Site IV-3. Starks, Maine Solar Energy, 535 Sawyers Mills Road.
Owner: Floyd Severn, 491-3461, info@mainesolar.com
With 43 yrs in solar business, 35 in Maine, Floyd has extensive experience with Off-Grid applications of solar PV and thermal systems. Here is the off-grid, thermal-mass design home. Including 5, flat-plate solar thermal collectors, using non-toxic anti-freeze, and 540 gal. stainless steel tank for pre-heated water. Attached green-house and 35, 130W PV modules, (4.6 kW array), and 48 V battery bank, 24, 2 V deep-cycle batteries. http://www.mainesolar.com
Tour VI: Midcoast
Organizer: Jennifer Hatch ReVision Energy LLC, 109 Fox St., Portland, 04101
Phone: 221-6342, Email: jen@revisionenergy.com
Site VI-1. Belfast, 83 Crocker Road.
The GO passive house has reduced energy loads with an annual heating bill of only $300! The team from GO Logic designed this home to bring energy performance in line with affordability. Besides being Passive House Certified this home is also Net Zero, making the same amount of energy it uses over the course of a year and is LEED Platinum rated.
Site VI-2. Biddeford Pool, 32 Sea Spray Drive.
Owners: Bill & Renate Riggs
This home has both a solar domestic and solar space heating system. The Riggs wanted to cover as much of their heat load as they could with solar so utilized the entire south facing roof on their Sea Spray Drive home. There are five 30 tube Apricus collector arrays which totals 150 tubes. This systems provides the domestic hot water for this house as well as supplements the heating supply. When the solar is not able to keep up with the heat load a high efficiency propane boiler turns on to provide seamless heat and hot water. The boiler installed is a Triangle Tube Excellence 110 modulating, condensing gas boiler.
Site VI-3. East Waterboro, 62 Townhouse Road.
Owner: Terry McIlveen
This home features a solar hot water space heating system. There are 90 evacuated tubes heating a 160 gallon solar storage tank. Terry incorporated solar space heating to reduce his oil consumption and loves the savings he is seeing! This system is designed to provide 100% of the domestic hot water load and a portion of the heat load.
Site VI-4. Falmouth, 160 Woodville Rd.
Owners: Claudia King & Lindsey Tweed
The house was originally built in 1975, using passive solar features & a wide variety of salvaged materials, including posts & beams from a 1800's mill building. Low indoor comfort, due to poor shell insulation & high air infiltration, led to the current renovation, a deep energy retrofit to drastically reduce energy needs, with Net Zero as the goal. The current renovation includes new exterior rigid foam insulation, new windows, & new cladding, while reusing or keeping the original salvaged materials used when the house was built.
Site VI-5. Freeport, 12 Merganser Way.
Owners: Fiona & Rob Wilson
The owners of a coastal property sought to build a new home that would sit well with their existing cottage which they had enjoyed for many years, while living as a true modern companion to their eclectic oceanfront neighborhood. Generous porches present a welcoming entry towards the street in harmony with the neighboring structures. A simple compact form rises dramatically and opens towards the ocean. Corner windows are carefully placed to capture spectacular coastal views and ensure privacy. Deep set windows and slatted exterior sunshades
prevent overheating in summer while maximizing winter sunlight. The 1,800 square foot 3 bedroom home is on track to receive LEED Certification.
Site VI-6. Freeport, 10 Cranberry Ridge Road.
Owners: Melissa & Eric Coleman
Built in 2006 by Wright-Ryan Construction and designed by Richard Renner (both of Portland), this home was designed with careful consideration to utilize non-toxic, environmental, recycled and local building materials wherever possible. Passive solar design, good insulation, and energy efficient appliances keep this home’s energy loads to a minimum.
This home features include: solar power, radiant heat, local birch, granite and slate, custom millwork, triple pane glass windows and heat recovery ventilation to circulate fresh air through this well insulated home. There is a solar thermal system covering the domestic hot water load of the house with excess heat circulating through the radiant heat distribution and a 2 kW solar electric system that produces over 200 kWh of clean electricity each month. Located within the beautiful Wolfe Neck area of Freeport, this LEED Platinum home is not one to miss!
Site VI-7. Gray, 4 Pennel Lane.
Owners: Tim & Lydia Jilek
View how a pellet boiler works to heat a home by visiting the Gray residence of ReVision Energy staff Tim Jilek. The Jileks installed a boiler that run up to 90% efficiency and a solar hot water heating system covering the domestic hot water load and a solar electric system producing over 400 kWh of clean electricity each month! Tim installs solar systems for a living, so he knows how they work!
Site VI-8. Rockport 181 Mill Street.
The Bright Built Barn, is a 700 square foot single level space which takes a barn form and contains a studio, a workshop and an office for a couple on their Rockport, ME property. The project is the practical outcome of an in-depth collaboration between Kaplan Thompson Architects, Bensonwood Woodworking Company, a team of green engineers, and a visionary client to create a super green, offsite fabricated net-zero building that can be adapted and replicated over time. Designers, building fabricators, high performance building experts and solar energy professionals from all over the northeast participated in the project.
Site VI-9. Sanford, 65 Sand Pond Road.
Owner: Cliff Babkirk
The Babkirks recently installed twenty-three 235 Conergy P solar electric panels to their roof, to total 5,405 Watts. The systems utilizes twenty-three Enphase micro inverters, one under each panel. This system is expected to produce 7,388 kWh of clean, renewable electricity each year! See how their system works online; the Babkirks can pull up that information from their data monitoring system reading what the panels are doing in real time!
Site VI-10. Scarborough, 6 Minuteman Drive.
Owners: Deb & Jim McDonough
This family home features 60 evacuated solar hot water collector tubes heating a 105 gallon dual coil solar storage tank. This system is designed to cover most of the domestic hot water used with back up coming from an oil boiler. This is a retrofit installation on a standard construction house. This house also has retrofit radiant heat, and cellulose re-insulation. The solar hot water was installed in 2007. Solar electricity was installed in 2009. If you’ve never been to this house it is a wonderful place to stop. Deb & Jim are excellent hosts and explain the systems beautifully.
Site VI-11. Woolwich, 231 Murphy’s Corner Road.
Owners: Ben & Michelle Tipton
The Tiptons moved from Vermont to Maine and built their home to provide their family both with comfort and reduced energy so to be less reliant on energy expenditures, allowing that money to be spent on other matters. They built a timber frame home with help of the Shelter Institute in Woolwich. The building is just over 1,000 square feet. There is no basement in this home. It is well insulated with heat coming from a centralized wood stove and radiant floor distribution.
The energy loads are low as the Tiptons considered every appliance, its purpose and estimated usage. They live comfortably but also conservatively. There is solar hot water heating the domestic hot water and also part of their radiant space heat. Solar electric panels act as an awning to also provide shade in the summer months. The home is passive solar by design. They recently added a pool which also acts as the heat dump for the solar collectors.
Site VI-12. Boothbay Harbor, Heliotropic Technologies, 60 Campbell Street.
Owner: Michael Mayhew, Tour Hours: 10 am - 3 pm
This was an existing seasonal cottage that was situated with very good southern exposure and elevated ocean views, that has been retrofitted into a super-efficient cool place. It was cost-effectively improved and is now a local landmark. Latest tower/dormer addition has R-80 ceiling & R-45 walls insulated with urethane foam and reflective barrier. Deep energy retrofit, Energy Star Appliances, Grid Tied PV, Local Materials, Passive solar, Radiant floor heating, Solar domestic hot water, Solar Heated, Sunspace, Super Insulated Walls/ Roof, Single Family
Residence.
Site VI-13. Kennebunkport, Cape Porpoise, 189 Mills Rd.
Owners: Bill & Debbi Lord, 967-1295
Photovoltaic roof with utility interfaced photovoltaic system. There is a 1000 gallon storage active solar heating radiant floor system. The installations on this home have been featured in many national magazines. This home is not to miss if you are in the Kennebunkport area. This Cape Porpoise home has its own web site, www.solarhouse.com. Architect: Solar Design
Associates, Builder: Tim Spang.
Site VI-14. Camden, 82 Annis Road.
Owners: Eric and Laura Evans
This single family residence features: grid tied PV, Solar domestic hot water, wood heat, night window covers, and solar powered hot water and grid-tied solar electricity.
Site VI-15. Falmouth, 34 Hartford Avenue.
Owner: Stew MacLehose
Building Features: Daylighting, Energy Star Appliances, Energy Star rated, Passive solar, Solar domestic hot water. This is a module home designed to meet net zero energy status. There is solar hot water collectors heating a 160 gallon storage tank preheating tank for the radiant floor. An electric boiler serves as the back up.
Site VI-16. Georgetown, Williams Farm, 133 Williams Road.
Tour Hours: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Building Features: Alt Fuel Vehicle, Radiant floor heating, Solar domestic hot water This tour showcases a 60-tube photovoltaicpowered solar hot water system that provides 100% of the domestic hot water for Williams Farm from May to October and radiant heat for a 180 square foot attached greenhouse. The tour will emphasize the key elements of efficient system design for producing solar hot water in northern latitudes and will also demonstrate how to set up a web enabled logger that can monitor over 100 sensors at a fraction of the cost of commercial loggers. Also on display will be a battery powered riding lawn mower and a Toyota Prius.
Site VI-17. Woolwich, 61 Delano Road.
Owner: Guy Marsden
Building Features: Energy Star Appliances, Grid Tied PV, Heat recovery ventilation, Instantaneous hot water, Passive solar, Radiant floor heating, Rain Barrels, Solar domestic hot water, Solar Heated, Super Insulated Walls/ Roof. Self-installed micro inverter based grid-tied 4 kW solar array on workshop powers 53% of the power for home, and 2 home based businesses on an annual basis. Solar building heat in super insulated workshop uses 4 4' X 8' collectors and an 80 gallon storage tank backed up by propane and wood stove. Heat recovery ventilator used in winter months. Solar DHW in house feeds propane on-demand water heater. Solar charged electric lawn mower conversion started with a 22" Craftsman gas mower.
Site VI-18. Washington, 722 Old County Rd.
Owner: Sasha Kutsy
This small, owner-built off-grid solar home features: Energy Star Appliances, Instantaneous Hot Water, Local Materials, Non-Toxic Products, Off Grid PV, Passive Solar, Rain Barrels, Recycled Materials, Single Family Residence, Sunspace, Super Insulated Walls/ Roof.
Site VI-19. Mt. Desert, Bale Out, 126 Oak Hill Rd.
This Straw Bale residence Features: Energy Star Appliances, Local Materials, Non-Toxic Products, Passive Solar, Radiant floor heating, Recycled Materials.
Site VI-20. Hartford, 275 Labrador Pond Road.
Owner: Lee Holman, 388-2510
100 year old cape. A pair of 80-watt PV panels make up this low-budget electrical system along with a propane refrigerator & kitchen range and wood heat. This system runs a laptop computer & printer, 12v SHURflo pump for water at the kitchen sink, some lights, a radio & a few other electrical devices.
