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Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
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For your Saturday entertainment …
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Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
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Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
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Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 13-47
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Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
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OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
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Will Health Care Reform Pass?
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Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
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George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Solar tour this weekend shows how businesses, homes, farms and parks cut electricity costs
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Monday, Sep 28, 2009
Ever wonder what it costs to install a solar panel on your roof, or how a geothermal well works, or whether it's really possible to reduce your electric bill to $10 a month?
Stop wondering and start learning.
About 30 businesses, homeowners, farms and parks in the five-county region will have open houses this weekend as part of the 2009 Ohio Solar Tour.
The annual event, sponsored by Green Energy Ohio (GEO), invites the public to see how some people have adopted clean energy technology where they live, work and play.
In previous years, the local tour has amounted to a caravan of cars driving together to perhaps half a dozen sites. But this year, a less structured open house format has enabled a record number of facilities to be featured.
People interested in the tour can customize a guide — complete with driving directions to each location — by signing onto the Ohio Solar Tour Web site and selecting which structures they want to include.
(Visit http://www.greenenergyohio.org, click on the Ohio Solar Tour picture, then follow instructions. Note that not all sites are open during the same hours.)
Kim and Joe Gaebelein said they are looking forward to sharing their experience with visitors at their Richfield home (3255 Prairie Vista Court, open 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday).
''There were so few resources when we started [to build our home], so to be part of the solar tour and helping to educate people who are thinking about this is pretty exciting,'' Kim Gaebelein said.
The Gaebeleins' home, completed in 2008, uses geothermal heating and cooling — a system of backyard wells that tap the constant 55-degree temperature of deep soil, reducing the need for a traditional furnace.
The house received an Energy Star rating after an audit determined the building was 52 percent more energy-efficient than a conventionally built house.
''We wanted to build something that would be sustainable, and it was fun for us,'' Kim Gaebelein said. ''It became like a game, asking what else can we do.''
The upfront building costs were higher, she said, but the extra costs should be recouped in six to 10 years.
Gaebelein said she's also proud that her employer, Regency Windows in Twinsburg, is participating in this year's Solar Tour by offering home energy audit demonstrations to visitors at the Deneen home in Akron, 1588 Hilbish Ave.
The demonstrations are from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday only and will reveal ''five secrets to energy efficiency,'' Gaebelein said.
In addition to newcomers like the Gaebeleins, the Solar Tour is featuring some regulars, like the Akron Zoo.
The zoo's Komodo Kingdom Education Center was the first structure in Summit County and the third zoo in the country to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. It uses a geothermal heating and cooling system.
Spokesman David Barnhardt said the zoo enjoys being part of the green industry's educational efforts.
''The Solar Tour really gives us a chance to showcase that building and the green elements built into it, and also to share information with conservation-oriented people,'' he said.
And having been part of the Solar Tour for several years, he's seen how much a difference is made by elevating that conversation.
''We've definitely seen more interest and more people aware of what it means to be 'green,' '' he said.
Athan Barkoukis, program manager of Green Energy Ohio, agreed. Statewide, there will be 166 open house sites in 91 communities featuring solar electric, solar thermal, wind, passive solar and biomass systems.
''The growth and breadth of sites across the state compared to last year . . . are contributing to education of and investment in clean energy technologies by Ohioans,'' he said.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
Ever wonder what it costs to install a solar panel on your roof, or how a geothermal well works, or whether it's really possible to reduce your electric bill to $10 a month?
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Orrville, Oh
Posted 05:09 PM, 09/28/2009
Reality demands: Green Energy Director; deny municipalities, power companies, and Investors and Stockholders (money marketers); Liberty; to market; more stock dividends (money); quarterly; in the wholesale and retail price; of electricity.
This defiance; of realities demands; is needed; to measure and maintain; the strength and growth; of this UNAFFORDABLE economy; prove that ONLY money; used to identify agreed value of sellers and buyers of electricity in the marketplace; has value; and distribute wealth; into investors and stockholders portfolios!
akron, oh
Posted 11:54 PM, 09/28/2009
does anybody know what this Loren is blabbering about?
