Intro and map –

Note: An address for each location will be provided after registration.

Bus Tour: (marked with an "**" )

1S Ernie Morgan Center (leave 9:45),

3S Delhaise/Amundsen,

4S Baum,

5S McElroy

** 1S. Ernie Morgan Center - The Southside tour begins here with a free Basics of Photovoltaics workshop at 9:00am.  The Center will be open only from 9 AM to Noon.

Features: PV system, daylighting, reused materials, eco-friendly décor, EcoGarden, straw-bale room.

PV system provides approximately 40% of the Center’s electrical needs. Four sun tubes and numerous windows take advantage of day-lighting. Reused materials were utilized throughout, including recycled linoleum, carpeting made of recycled plastic bottles, wallpaper from old posters and a hardwood floor reclaimed from an old pier. Low-flow faucets have been installed in each restroom, and programmable thermostats in two zones of the building help regulate heating/cooling for increased energy efficiency. The Center was recently painted with no-VOC paints. The EcoGarden showcases green gardening techniques - native plants, rain barrels, rain gardens, a compost demonstration area, a pervious paver walkway and passive heating/cooling through the

use of vegetation. An office with three straw-bale walls is available for viewing, with displays to showcase the depth of insulation and the actual bales of straw.

 

2S. Team Tidewater Design Studio - Team Tidewater is a collaboration between Hampton University’s architects and Old Dominium University’s engineers to design build their entry to the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition.  You can see Team Tidewater’s house on the Mall in Washington, DC from Sept 23 to Oct 2 (www.teamtidewaterva.org/), or if you can’t get there, stop in here to see visuals of the house and its capabilities. 

 

** 3S. Delhaise/Amundsen Home - This home has a PV solar electric system of 21 panels, large enough to nearly eliminate the electric bill from the utility.  The home also has a Geo-Thermal heating and cooling system. This system replaces the downstairs furnace and air conditioner and pumps heat from the ground in the winter and cooling from the ground in the summer.  There is also a solar water heater consisting of two collectors on the rear roof with the tank in the attic.

 

 

** 4S. Baum Home - Features: Solar PV and hot water

16 (215-watt) Sunpower solar PV panels are mounted on the south facing roof with a 4 kW inverter that will handle up to 22 panels with net metering connection.  Installed October 2009.  The solar hot water system is a 3 collector Guardian array on the west-facing roof connected to a 120 gallon solar water heater with SunEarth differential temperature control that feeds the existing gas fired water heater.  Installed March 2010.  Both systems installed by Solar Services of Virginia Beach.

 

** 5S. McElroy Home - Features: solar hot water, PV system, a green roof and a rainwater cistern.

Pre-heat temperature of the solar hot water heater is 110F in the winter, over 140F in the summer. The panel system measures solar energy captured by the system.  With the federal tax break, the renewable energy certificate (REC) and the offset of natural gas, the system should pay for itself within 7 years.  The PV system makes 3400 W at peak sun and provides about 40% of monthly electric needs. The system should pay for itself within 11 years.  The green roof should have a lifetime of over 50 years and saves about 20% of air-conditioning bill. The 3000-gallon cistern collects an estimated 80,000 gallons of rainwater per year.   (More information at http://web.me.com/ruthandscott/Our_Green_House/

 

6S. Fitts House - Features: passive solar design. 

This home was designed in 1978 for energy efficiency and focuses on passive solar heating.  Large south-facing windows in most rooms bring sunlight and solar heat inside during winter months.  Fixed overhangs shade these same windows in the summer months.  At night and on cloudy days, insulated roller shades conserve energy loss thru the glass. 

The property was a naturally landscaped garden prior to building the home and very little was disturbed to construct the home. 

Since 1978, the heat pump HVAC heating and cooling system has been upgraded to a much more energy efficient model. 

 

7S. Morgan Home - The oil furnace has been replaced with a Quietside 199,000BTU Gas Dual purpose tank less water heater.  The unit supplies domestic hot water and heat and is an on-demand unit that only produces hot water when used.  Unit cost $4600. Yearly fuel and maintenance expenses were reduced from $1963 to $60 (unit will pay for itself in 2.4yrs).  Since unit was installed average monthly gas bill has increased by only $6.

 

8S. Norfolk Botanical Gardens - There will be two tour times for this site.  You will need to preregister for this site on our website, www.hrsolartour.com.  Come a bit early and show your registration form at the gate and you’ll be directed to park at the Visitor’s Center.  You can then take the tram to the sites within NBG.  The tram leaves promptly at 11AM and 1 PM.

The Norfolk Botanical Gardens has a solar system powering the water pumps at the Butterfly pavilion. The panels generate power during the day which directly runs the DC motors for the pumps. Similar systems are used in arid areas to pump well water for irrigation or for livestock.  There is also a green roof which was installed on the public programs hut in the early spring of 2008.  See www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/gardens-horticulture/horticulture/green-roof.

 

9S. Good Home - Features: PV system, solar hot water heat to home and pool.

One of the first grid tied systems in Virginia using amorphous silicon panels made by Solarex in Williamsburg before B.P. purchased them and shut the plant down.

 

10S. Solar Services, Inc – Features: Solar PV, Solar hot water, Solar pool heating, High efficiency heat pumps, Gray-water recycling.

The PV system provides “net zero” electrical capability in this efficient building.  There is a digital control system in the office remote from the system. A solar hot water system is installed in the office with BTU meter and digital control.  This solar hot water system is the first in the country to be registered for the sale of renewable energy credits. For heating/cooling high efficiency mini split heat pump units were used. Recycled carpet and low VOC paints were applied when we finished out the building. We also have a demonstration gray-water recycling unit in the office and a demonstration roof is set up in the office to show a solar pool heating system.

 

11S. Kanz House - Features: Solar hot water, Solar pool heat. 

Having solar hot water saves 1/3 off my gas bill and lowers my carbon footprint.  I have more hot water then I have ever had.  The solar pool heat extends my swimming season from April to October.  Because my swim season is extended I get more pleasure from my investment.

 

12S. Jacobs House - Features: Passive house, Solar PV, Solar Hot Water, Rainwater cistern, Atmospheric Drinking Water Generator

The passive solar house was designed and built by Jim & Genny Jacobs in 1982 as part of a HUD competition.  The goal was to design a house which any contractor, using conventional materials, could build for under $40 per sq. ft.. Although the competition was not won, the goal was met (actual cost for the1388 sq. ft., 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, was under $30/sq. ft. but Jim & Genny supplied all the labor), providing a comfortable, self-maintaining living space for the past 29 years.

It uses conventional materials, cinder block, wood flooring, casement windows, arranged in a slightly unconventional manner.  All windows are on the south side (actually, there's one window on the West side). There are no openings in the north wall. Walls are built of cinder block using "block bond" surface bonding and filled with sand for thermal mass.  Insulation is on the outside of the cinder block walls, itself covered by conventional vinyl siding.  The roof is white Ondura with sheet insulation on the underside of the roof rafters to vent and cool the attic.  Southern windows are shaded during the summer by means of a removable 80% shade cloth, supported by an 8 ft. overhang extension of the roof trusses. During the winter, the shade cloth is removed, letting light well into the house.  Under the windows are solar space heaters (covered by tan awning material during the summer) which, during the winter, draw air under the insulated floor from vents in the floor on the north side of the house, setting up a natural interior circulation system during the day. Cooling during the summer is provided by shade trees, the white roof, heavy insulation and a conventional central air conditioner.

Jacobs House Continued - 14 Canadian Solar, 200W PV modules with Enphase M215 microinverters, were recently installed (by Suntern Solar http://www.suntern.com/suntern.html) on the office / garage building adjacent to the house, with extra support rails for future expansion and testing of new CyboInverters and higher capacity modules in the fall/winter of 2011.  Current solar electricity production averages about 10 KWHr. per day (https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/mnVz25723 for real-time viewing).

The rainwater system collects water from all the building gutters and directs it through a series of channels to a 2000 gal. cistern which is used for watering plants during dry spells. A second cistern is planned for water to flush toilets.

 

 

13S Simon House - Features: Solar hot water

This site is a renovated 1940’s house fitted with a solar hot water system that provides radiant floor heating as well as domestic hot water needs.

14S. Wijtmans House – Features – PV, Ground source heat pump

My 12 solar panels (photovoltaic) are on a detached garage, since it faces almost due south. The house is about 20 years old with 2100 square feet in the main house plus two rooms on the attached garage.   Averaged over a year the panels provide a little over 1/3 of my total energy consumption, but in the fall and spring, when no A/C or heat is running, they provide almost all the power I use.  After 3 years maintenance on the panels has been almost nonexistent; the only problem is that squirrels like to nest under them.  The main house is heated/cooled by a ground source heat pump, which also pre-heats the hot water.

15S - Moore House - Features – Solar hot water and pool heater.

This home has a 30 year old solar one water heater which is still chugging along after all these years. He also has a solar pool heating system installed over 10 years ago. The home was built back in the 1970's so these units were retrofit.

16S. Dulay House – Features: PV

This house features a solar electric system installed in 2007.  It has 16 Kyocera Multicrystal panels at 175 watts each mounted on the garage with a Sunny Boy inverter.  To date they have generated over 14,000 kilowatt hours since installation.  I decided to purchase a PV system to reduce my electric bill and add to the value of my house.  The Federal tax credit helped, too.

 

The 2011 Hampton Roads Solar Tour is sponsored by:

Solar Services

www.solarservices.com/

877 Seahawk Circle #101, Virginia Beach, VA 23452

(757) 427-6300

 

 

Royer Technical Services

 

The Tidewater Current - news and information about sustainable endeavors in Coastal Virginia and beyond.    www.tidewatercurent.com

 

  

Suntern Solar
Virginia Beach, VA
(757) 453-4590