SHUTTLE TOUR

Join us for a city bus ride around the county to visit a variety of sites showcasing solar technologies, energy-saving water heating options, green home modifications and living practices, energy-efficient building techniques and more. The tour will start and end at the Paul Sawyier Public Library. You are welcome to join us for the Morning Tour (includes the Lunchtime Presentation), the Afternoon Tour (includes the Lunchtime Presentation), or the whole day. Space is limited, so please register early!

Contact Angela at Angela.Mitchell@fewpb.net or 502 352-4740 to register. $10 per person/ $5 for students

Homes in 2009 Capital Area Solar Tour

Colten Home
The Coltens have a six-person, 5-bedroom, 3-full bath, 2,750 sq ft household.  Their ranch style, two-story home was built in 1988 with some energy efficiency in mind.  Six-inch walls and generous insulation make for a fairly snug home.  However, since moving in, the Coltens have worked extensively to seal the envelope of the house, replace light bulbs, replace old appliances with ENERGY STAR, and improve the performance of their home.  As a result, they have lowered their electric bill over 40%. 

Most recently, in their quest for greater energy efficiency, they focused on their household hot water. They had a gas water heater.  In May 2009, they installed a solar hot water system with electric back up.  To date, the electric element has been turned off completely with no shortage of hot water.  They are monitoring for a year before considering adding a instantaneous gas backup on their hot water tank output.  Click here for more details about their home energy use.

Helm Home
    The Helm house is a unique new home that uses south-facing windows for passive solar gain in winter as well as a variety of green and low maintenance design elements such as split face stone, cement fiber siding and roofing tin. 

  The house was designed around timbers salvaged from the deconstruction of a dilapidated barn on the property.  Green building components include soy-based foam insulation, energy efficient windows, Energy Star appliances, low VOC paint, a dual flush toilet, as well as materials purchased from Habitat for Humanity ReStore and salvaged from the basement of the owner’s parents’ home.
The house uses a wood stove for heat and is designed to promote passive cooling and maximize natural lighting.  A geothermal unit provides backup heating and cooling.     
         
The most unique aspects of this beautiful home are the creative reuse of barn roofing tin and the many uses of barn wood and other local lumber.  There are at least fifteen different species of wood found throughout the house including cork flooring and hardwood flooring from Kentucky forests.

Mitchell Home
On the Capital Area Solar Tour for the third year, Angela Mitchell has made many changes in the way she uses energy in her Franklin County ranch style home. She has slashed her home's electricity use 60% by switching to compact flourescent bulbs, adding insulation and installing energy-efficient appliances and a solar water heating system.
Angela has Franklin County's first net-metered solar electric system, and this year we will get to look at all her data from almost two years of powering her home with the sun. A representative from the Frankfort Plant Board will be at the Mitchell home to speak about net metering and energy-efficient lighting.

While at the Mitchell home, people can take a quarter-mile walk on the family farm to a yurt, a one-room circular structure with a high dome and sky light. It's a simple writing/art studio and meditation center for Angela and her partner, Charlie Pearl, and their family and friends. The roof has a water catchment that drains into two rain barrels. A solar cooker sits outside the 26-foot diameter yurt.

Riley Home
The Riley’s live in an 85 year old house which includes a passive solar living space and a solar water heater. The passive solar feature includes three large windows facing southwest, which heat a brick floor. The solar water heater dates to the early 1970’s but was rebuilt two years ago.

Lambert/Archer Home
The Lambert-Archer home just over the county line in Anderson County sits on 145-acres. This farm features a Geodesic dome home, wetland septic system, three-acre pond, and a solar water heating system.