Commercial buildings, green homes invite public to tour during Environment Week
ECO-SOLAR HOME TOUR SEES ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ TECHNOLOGY ADVANCE IN 13 YEARS
Though thousands of Edmontonians have participated in the Eco-Solar Home Tour over its 13 years of operation, an inaugural event this year is garnering a lot of attention. For the first time, a tour of six commercial buildings will be included in EcoSolar’s tours during Environment Week, said Eco-Solar Vice-President Andrew Mills. “We’re very excited,” said Mills. “Local businesses in Edmonton are taking a leadership role by constructing their buildings to be much more energy efficient.” Eco-Solar, a non-profit group in Edmonton that has been promoting green building practices for more than a decade, has been working with six city businesses to host open houses during business hours June 4-8. “Imagine low-income housing that’s net-zero or a million dollar retrofit that resulted in a 65 per cent reduction in energy use,” said Mills. It’s all here on the commercial tour: Geothermal heating and cooling, ventilation heat recovery, solar air collectors, and rainwater collection. Buildings such as the Hole’s Enjoy Centre have been designed as a new model for business and community involvement. With a 240 kW combined heat/power unit and extensive rainwater collection it generates 90 per cent of its own power and collects 90 per cent of the water it needs for their plants.
Fantastic homes open doors The Eco Solar Home Tour has proved perennially popular since its inception in 2000. Then, the homes had triple pane windows, extra insulation and a solar panel or two. This year, homes boast such features as a wood-fired boiler system that contributes to the home’s hot water heating system, or an engine installed in the garage that produces heat with a byproduct of electricity. “Twelve homes will be available to tour this year on June 9,” said Mills. “Three are net-zero-energy and there is a very interesting affordable prefabricated home that will be net-zero-energy ready.”
The advancements in technology over the 13-year span of the tour are “outrageous”, said Mills. Homes on the tour boast an array of the best in green technology, including solarelectric and solarthermal systems, geothermal heating, and a rainwater collection system for irrigation and flushing toilets.
On Saturday, June 9 from noon-4, homeowners are throwing open the doors to their green homes for tours. Volunteers and homeowners are on hand to demonstrate the technologies and answer your questions. This is a self-directed tour where you make your way from home to home to ask questions and find out the answers you need. Each tour will be an open house hosted by the owners. The Eco Solar Home Tour Society is a non-profit society organized by passionate volunteers who know that energy efficiency works. Each year since 2000 the society has arranged tours of the most energy-efficient and interesting homes in the Edmonton area. “We strongly believe that once people see the technologies they will choose to live and work more efficiently,” said Mills. Pre-registration is not required. For more specs and addresses, go to www.ecosolar.ca.