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Solar home tours slated for this Saturday

BY LINDA RUSH, The Southern

Thursday, October 2, 2008 7:47 AM CDT

As fuel prices continue to concern area residents, an alternative energy entrepreneur is inviting them to check out the possibilities of solar energy on Saturday.

Aur Beck of Advanced Energy Solutions has been sponsoring the self-guided tours for several years. Visitors are invited to visit any or all of the tour sites Saturday, Beck said. “People probably will start with the ones closest to their own homes,” he said.

The locations range from rural West Frankfort to rural Tamms, with other sites in Carbondale, Pomona, Cobden.

Beck’s own home features two off-the-grid and one grid-tie system (a battery backup system), he said. “I will have the most educational materials available at my place,” he added. The number of installations on this year’s tour is down slightly because some homeowners have other commitments, he said.

A list of sites and maps are available at www.AdvancedEnergySolution.com. The tour takes participants through areas of the Shawnee National Forest and the Southern Illinois Wine Trail.

Beck’s home is at 186 Gates Road in Pomona, phone 893-1717. To reach it, take Illinois 127 south from Murphysboro to Pomona, turn west on Pomona Road, drive down the hill and turn left at the stop sign, following the wine trail. Go one mile to Gates Road, where there is parking, multiple solar systems to see, and plenty of information. Directions to the other sites will be available there as well.

The West Frankfort solar installation is at 8777 Freeman Spur Blacktop and features a grid intertie system with roof-mounted solar units.

Another Pomona site is the Holistic Healing Arts Straw Bale Clinic at 2003 Hickory Ridge Road. The site is about a mile south of the Pomona Winery. The clinic, as its name implies, is constructed of straw bales.

The Tamms home is owner-built, off-grid and completely powered by a 2.1 kilowatt photovoltaic array. The system powers all household appliances, a well pump, window air conditioner and other appliances. Water is heated by a solar batch heater in summer and a loop through the wood furnace in winter. The homeowners grow edible mushrooms on logs, and if the sun is shining Saturday, they plan to be baking in a sun oven. The home is at 20601 Maggie Lane, two miles north of Olive Branch on the Tamms-Olive Branch Road. Turn on Maggie and go a quarter mile, through a gate that says “Go solar,” and continue another quarter mile to the home.

A farm at 35 Nubbin Ridge Lane in Cobden has a grid-connected backup photovoltaic system that produces electricity and also uses wind-generated power. It is off U.S. 51; turn left on Spanish Bluff Road. The road forks; take the left fork, go a quarter-mile and the road will branch into three roads. Look to the right for parking. The system is behind the barn.

In Carbondale, sites include 700 W. Elm St., with solar panels and deep cycle batteries for backup power; 84 Dunn Lane (off South Illinois Avenue, Old U.S. 51), where the first straw-bale home in Southern Illinois is being built by Eco-logic Construction; Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where a solar system is located along U.S. 51 between the power plant and tennis courts, with an informational sign for visitors; and 605 Baine Drive, north off Sycamore between U.S. 51 and Illinois 13, which features a passive solar design and heat pump for heating and cooling.

Saturday’s tour is part of a national group of tours that last year attracted more than 115,000 people in 46 U.S. states. The tours provide those considering alternative energy installations to see how their neighbors are harnessing energy from the sun to slash their monthly utility bills.

For more information contact Advanced Energy Solutions, 893-1717