THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 12, 1996 TAG: 9610120177
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY ELLEN MILES, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: 89 lines
Eight area homeowners next Saturday are asking folks to come out and experience the sunshine.
The local dwellings are part of a nationwide open house organized to promote solar energy and other renewable resources and to stress the use of energy-efficient building technologies.
Carol Brighton, who organized the local solar tour, says the event is being held in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy's designation of October as Energy Awareness Month. Other organizations participating include the American Solar Energy Society and the local Sustainable Building Society.
About half the local homeowners have participated in previous solar dwelling tours, Brighton says.
The event will begin at 10 a.m. Oct. 19 with a lecture at Old Dominion University's Kaufman Duckworth Hall. Four speakers involved in the solar industry will discuss passive solar design and solar heating and electric systems. After the talks, a photovoltaic (relating to the production of electric current at the junction of two substances exposed to light ) demonstration will be held.
Participants may then tour local homes and other buildings that have a variety of solar features and discuss solar energy with the owners.
Brighton, who lives in Norfolk, says she got the idea for a local tour after reading about the national open house in Solar Today magazine. When she found out that no one locally was organizing a tour, she took on the task herself.
The main drive in coordinating the event was sheer curiosity about solar energy, Brighton says. She hopes to generate more local interest in sustainable building and is organizing society meetings in November.
Brighton would like to emphasize that people must call her to register for the tour; please just don't just show up at the houses. Space is limited. For a brochure, tour registration, map or further information, contact Brighton at 489-1899 or through her e-mail address, cab(AT)visi.net.
An introductory meeting of the Sustainable Building Society will be held Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at One Columbus Center, Suite 600, Virginia Beach. For further information call the above number.
Here is a sample of what you can see on the solar home tour:
Fitts home: 11:45 a.m. to 3 p.m., 7507 Major Ave., Norfolk. This passive solar home uses the suns rays to provide heating and cooling. Large southern-exposure windows collect heat in the winter and are shaded in the summer. Window quilts are also used to hold heat in the winter and slow summer heat.
Hahn home: noon to 4 p.m., 457 W. Ocean View Ave., Norfolk. This is a restored turn-of-the-century house powered by wind and a utility backup. Two rooftop 300-watt wind turbines generate an average of 10 to 5 kilowatts per day, meeting all electrical needs. A battery bank can supply electricity for three to five days when the wind isn't blowing.
Burns home: noon to 3 p.m., 5504 Levine Court, Norfolk. This house uses a solar-tracking parabolic trough collector system to heat water (providing 80 percent of hot water needs); it also contributes to home heating. Since this concentrated system allows high water temperatures, an air handler was installed to blow air heated by the solar hot water coils into the living area.
Tillett home: noon to 4 p.m., 4773 River Shore Road, Portsmouth. Thirty-two rooftop solar collectors heat this home, along with its water and swimming pool. A zone-controlled hydronic space heating system comprising a series of in-floor copper pipes runs solar heated water through thousands of pounds of sand. This system allows heat to be retained and slowly released to the home in winter.
McGonegal home: 2 to 5 p.m., 5097 Langston Court, Virginia Beach. This ranch house is angled toward the sun, with large southern-exposure windows. The heat and hot water are provided by 400 square feet of solar collectors. A solar assisted heat pump further reduces winter heating costs.
Ainscough home: 12:30 to 4:30 p.m., 4400 Leatherwood Drive, Virginia Beach. This contemporary home uses both passive and active solar systems. Rooftop solar collectors provide hot water. Many southern-exposure windows and a sunspace with heat-retaining slate floors add to winter heating. Shades and a white Western exterior provide relief from the summer sun.
Reed home: 2 to 5 p.m., 2116 E. Admiral Drive, Virginia Beach. This house has an 18-by-30-foot sunspace, insulated with an eight-inch thick concrete slab and 18-inch interior perimeter brick wall, which store heat for nighttime radiation. Winter daytime temperatures range from 80 to 85 degrees; nighttime temperatures, 58 to 60 degrees.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., 1150 Horn Point Road, Virginia Beach (Back Bay Wildlife Refuge). This custom passive solar home serves as a residence for Fish and Wildlife Service employees. A greenhouse with operating shutters opens on the living room, allowing the sun to heat extensive brick and tiled surfaces. A unique day-lighting method is used in other areas of the home.
The tour is also sponsored by the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of ODU, Advantage Mortgage Co., the Design Collaborative, Tomorrow's World and The Interstate Renewable Energy Council.
KEYWORDS: ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOLAR ENERGY WIND POWER by CNB