2011 Solar Home Tour
This Fall, the
2011 Hampton Roads Solar Tour will
be held on Saturday, October 1st,
for the Peninsula sites and Sunday,
October 2nd, for the Southside sites. Residents and visitors alike
will be given the opportunity to get
a more personal view of many
renewable energy projects, as well
as sustainable living and housing
techniques. Held in conjunction with
the American Solar Energy Society
(ASES) National Solar Tour, this
year's event will feature
approximately 20 homes and
facilities across the Hampton Roads
area that will help bring the idea
of greening homes much closer to
reality for hundreds of local
homeowners.
The various homes display a wide
range of green technologies,
including solar and wind electric
systems, solar hot water and pool
heating, super-insulated and
energy-efficient homes,
LEED-certified homes, green (living)
roofs, rain-water cisterns, native
plant landscaping, rain gardens,
geothermal, as well as passive
heating, cooling and ventilation.
Owners and volunteers are available
at each home to explain the
technologies; their advantages,
disadvantages, and financial
benefits.
Self-guided tours are free or if
you prefer, you can take a
guided tour on one of our buses
for $10.00.
A New Chevy
Volt
will be
available for viewing at site 10S,
Solar Services,
during the 2
October Southside tour.
2011 Hampton Roads Solar Tour
How the Tour works:
The 2011 Hampton Roads Solar Tour is
brought to you by Hampton Roads
Green Building Council, through its
Homes Committee, and is part of the
American Solar Energy Society’s
National Solar Tour.
The purpose of the Tour is to
demonstrate and demystify solar,
renewable, and sustainable
technologies so that you, the
homeowner, can see them in action,
talk to knowledgeable people, and go
home and introduce them into your
own homes.
By doing so you will have
done your part toward solving our
energy and environmental problems.
We hope you enjoy and learn
from this event, and appreciate your
feedback on how to improve it in the
future.
The tour is free but we have asked
you to register on our website (or
by phone at 214-6732) to obtain a
ticket so that site owners will know
that you are members of the Tour.
Tickets are valid for both
days of the Tour.
Please present your ticket
when you arrive at a site so we
can track attendance patterns.
If you are driving, which
most of you will be, please park so
that you don’t block others on the
tour or the neighbors.
(We will have one 15-passenger bus
running each day of the Tour.
These buses will have a guide
who will take you around to selected
sites on the Tour and help describe
the sites and features you see.
A bus ticket is $10 per
person to partially cover the cost
of the buses.
Our sponsors have graciously
picked up the rest of the costs.
Since seating is limited we
encourage you to sign up early.
The buses will start from
Site 1 each day.
See program for each day fro
times.
Each site
has been given a number which is
simply a rough indication of its
geographic location, so you can plan
your tour.
The map shows the approximate
location of each site.
More detailed directions are
given in the site listing.
You may do your own tour in
any order you wish, and see any
number of the sites.
Tip: you may avoid crowds by
not following the numerical
order.
We strongly encourage you to visit
Sites 1P or 1S to start your tours,
as they will have lots of things to
show and hand out.
Note that the Virginia Living
Museum, Site 1P, will only be open
to the tour from 10 to 10:45 AM, and
Site 1S, the Ernie Morgan Center,
will only be open from 9 AM to noon.
In addition, the buses will
start from Site 1.
We will
also be announcing the winner of the
Cabiroy “Energy2Equity”
Challenge (http://energy2equity.wordpress.com/)
at the beginning of the Tour at Site
1P, so be there to see who has the
most energy efficient house!
We also
have NASA Langley
on the Tour for the
first time. Attendance at NASA will
be limited and controlled.
If you wish to see the NASA
site, please carefully read the
instructions for site 6P (NASA) and
perform the special registration
required
in advance.
NOTE: It is
now too late to register for the
NASA tour for this year.
Norfolk Botanical Garden, Site 8S,
will also require a signup at
registration.
At some sites you will be invited
inside, at others the exhibits will
be outside the home.
Please respect the owner’s
choice in this matter.
Finally, please remember that
you will be guests at the sites that
you visit, and that you should
conduct yourself in the manner than
you would like guests in your own
house to behave.
Thank you for participating in the
2011 Hampton Roads Solar Tour.
Have fun and learn!
Click
Here to
REGISTER for the Hampton Roads 2011 Solar Tour
– On the Peninsula,
Saturday, October 1, 2011
–
On the Southside,
Sunday, October 2, 2011
10AM to 4PM both days
(unless noted otherwise)
Interested in sponsoring the 2011
Solar Tour? To learn more about this
unique opportunity, please
contact us at
info@hrgbc.org
