Saturday # October 3, 2009
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2009 6th ANNUAL Solar Tour & Social REAL SOLUTIONS FOR REAL PEOPLE Saturday • October 3, 2009 Solar Social 9am-11am Solar Tour 11am- 4pm www.HoustonSolarTour.org PRESENTED BY The ASES National Solar Tour American Solar Energy Society (ASES) Houston Renewable Energy Group (HREG) Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) City of Houston (COH) AD 9-5 9/5/08 11:13 AM Page 1 509-08-111 APS 3.5x4.6 Adv3:Layout 1 9/5/08 4:05 PM Page 1 ! of urban 12 GREEN NATURE’S FREE ENERGY acresSPACE Lake! Visit the park for diverse seasonal programming. L EV SER Playground! IA E T IE *Ask about our hassle C N R S E T A P S Free Financing options* Water Features! S AIN RT M E E Amphitheater! T N T N E Dog Runs! HY LI S S ILIE T V E R I E AM S L IN A F G Public Art! E We provide the following solar energy installations to your H Home or Business. Great Food! I N & K N T R C E H E P A H I L D R • Solar Electric Power • Solar Attic Fans For more • Solar Pool Heating • Energy Audits information on Discovery Green See. Touch. Hear. Taste. Explore. • Solar Water Heating or for program information and updates, visit 1500 McKinney across from the Call now for your FREE in home Solar Energy consultation and George R. Brown Convention Center estimate to start taking advantage of nature's free energy. discoverygreen.com. 713-400-7336 PHONE:����713-595-6375 All of the seasonal programming events are FREE and open to the public. WWW.APOWERSOLUTIONS.COM MEDIA SPONSORS: KPRC Channel 2 • Houston Chronicle • Comcast • Univision 45 RD ARCHITECTURE, LLC Specializing in LEED and green residential projects. Designer of the first LEED Gold Home in Houston. Proud coordinators of the ‘08 - ’09 Houston Solar Tour www.rdarc.com 713.432.7377 2 www.HoustonSolarTour.com Why Solar? Inside Solar Social ........................................ 4 LAST YEAR I DID a research project with my 10 year old daughter - an energy How Solar Systems Work .................... 6 time line. As we worked on it, one thing became clear, we’ve used an incredible Partner Profile ) HARC ......................... 7 amount of finite energy sources in a relatively short time. For ages people relied on About LEED ........................................ 9 Solar Facts ....................................... 10 human and animal power. Wind power pushed ships across the sea and ground Solar Incentives & Paybacks .............. 12 grain. People harnessed water power for saw mills. And then the steam engine was Solar Tour Map ............................ 12-13 invented. All of a sudden the world changed drastically. The industrial revolution, in The Economics ) Residential part driven by the steam engine, was only a little more than 200 years ago. The first Solar Panels ...................................... 16 central coal power electricity plants were developed in the 1880’s. In 1902 the first Partner Profile ) ASES ........................ 17 Partner Profile ) HREG ....................... 22 production gasoline cars were made in the US. In the past 200 years an incredible amount of change has taken place. CENTRAL HOUSTON TOUR SITES Discovery Green ................................. 5 GRB Convention Center ..................... 6 EY Imagine the next 200 years L City of Houston ATCH I can not possibly predict what will L Code Enforcement Bldg ...................... 7 Burghli Homes ..................................... 8 happen next, but I can be hopeful CES B N about the direction we will take. What Patterson Place III .............................8-9 Green Bank ...................................... 10 I do know is that our current energy Girl Scouts Headquarters ................... 11 consumption habits have to change. Gimenez Residence .......................... 14 Energy saved is just as valuable as FRA PHOTO BY MARY West University Solar Water Heating .. 14 energy made. Efficiency will become very important. R enewable sources of energy Eapen Residence .............................. 15 Zercher Residence ............................. 16 must take the place of finite energy sources. Reardon Residence ........................... 17 I sat, one afternoon, on the gulf coast at the end of this summer. There’s a Wareloft ............................................ 18 balance there we can’t easily sense in the city. Pelicans and other seabirds are fish- Edgar Residence .............................. 19 ing, and so are a few fishermen. T he birds catch what they need and the fishermen Heigel Residence ............................... 19 know not to exceed their limit for the day. It’s something they respect, because the NORTHEAST/WOODLANDS limit preserves fish stock for next year’s fishing. TOUR SITES Preserving our finite energy resources and reducing global greenhouse gases Fong Residence ................................. 20 are important aspects of solar energy advocacy. We need to start thinking about the Hill Residence .................................... 20 Discovery at Spring Trails ................... 21 future and take only what we need. Generating power in a smart way is another Dean Residence ............................... 22 challenge we face. We take the energy that comes to our homes for granted. In real- ity, there’s a lot to consider when you think about what is at the other end of a light SOLAR TOUR CLASSIC SITE Animal Farm ...................................... 23 switch or thermostat. I hope you enjoy the Houston Solar Tour - we are proud to be a part of the 2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS American Solar Energy Society National Tour. Several organizations help to organize Tour Chair the tour, including HREG, HARC, and the City of Houston. The efforts to put together Kathleen Reardon, LEED AP the solar tour is an investment in the future; just as every solar system installed is an- Principal, RD Architecture, LLC USGBC, HREG other step in the right direction. Many thanks to all our volunteers and participants! Tour Site and Volunteer Chair Teri Mercatante Kathleen Reardon, 2009 Houston Solar Tour Director Green Building Consultant, Greenology USGBC, HRE How to Take the Tour - It’s Free Sponsor Chair Aaron Knape THE ASES HOUstON SOLar TOUR is a self-guided tour. Look over the sites in this President, Tri-Solar, LLC, HREG tour guide, gather a few friends to carpool with and visit the projects that interest you. Or, Marketing / Brand & Interactive Strategies Chair Mary Frances Blatchley you can opt to take the organized group Metro bus tour (visit the HREG table at the Solar Principal, forGreen Marketing & Design Social to learn more). Enjoy spending the afternoon learning about solar systems and Marketing / Public Relations & Media Chair energy efficiency. Tour sites are open from 11am to 5 pm. Pam McConathy The Houston Solar Tour is part of the American Solar Energy Society’s (ASES) Principal, Foresight Communications Group national solar tour event, “the largest grassroots solar event in history.” Last year close Solar Social Chair to 140,000 attendees visited some 5,000 buildings in 3,000 participating communities Susannah Devine Designer, RD Architecture around the USA. Please be sure to sign up at the social or at a tour site so we can keep track of how many people have attended the 2009 Houston Tour! COVER PHOTO BY DENNIS DESilva The annual ASES Houston Solar Tour is made possible by the participation of many volunteers and both in-kind and paid sponsors. If you or your company would like to participate, please contact Kathleen Reardon at (713) 432-7377 or email her at [email protected]. Affiliate of ASES.org 3 2009 ASES HOUSTON SOLAR TOUR Solar Social at Discovery Green Saturday, October 3 Grace Event Lawn, 9-11am 1500 McKinney, Houston, TX 77010 Meet companies and organizations of Houston’s renewable Talk with non-profit groups about what they are doing in energy community as we kick-off the Houston Solar Tour. your community! Organizations include: the Houston Renewable Energy Group Visit the first two tour sites! (HREG), the US Green Building Council (USGBC), Mothers for • Discovery Green’s Alkek Building Clean Air (GHASPMFCA) • George R. Brown Convention Center solar system kiosk Learn about Houston’s involvement with the US Department For more information visit the Standard Renewable Energy of Energy (DOE) and find out ways to help the City of Houston table. reach its goal as part of the Solar Houston Initiative. Sign up for a free bus tour! Take a walk! METRO will be on site to transport you to and from some of Read interesting facts and a bit of history about “green” build- the tour sites. For more information and to sign up, visit the ing and renewable energy as you walk through the USGBC’s HREG table. Green Building Maze. Don’t forget the door prize!!! Find out what kids are learning about renewable energy! Sign up at the HREG table for FREE giveaways such as a – Spring Woods Middle School – Katheryn Rose Solar Attic Fan from Alternative Power Solutions and a $500 Get a breakdown of the inner workings of a photovoltaic gift certificate to Lighting, Inc., plus more! solar panel. – Betsy Ross Elementary School – Bethel Nwachukwu Paid parking options include covered parking @ Avienda de las Learn how wind and sun can create energy to power our Americas ($10) homes and communities. – TXU – Solar Academy TXU Energy Solar Academy is partnering with National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) to implement their na- tionally recognized solar energy education program into Texas schools. Find out how TXU brings an interactive solar learning experience into the classroom. Eat! Sample brownies from Ruggles Green, Houston’s first green certified restaurant. 4 www.HoustonSolarTour.org DISCOVERY GREEN 1500 McKinney Street, Houston 77010 Renewable Energy System: Solar Electric, 49.92 kW System Installer: Standard Renewable Energy Date Installed: February 2008 Approximate Energy Provided: 71,686 kWh per yr. Approximate Cost Savings at 20 cents/kwh: $14,337.20 per year DESCRIPTION OF INSTALLATION Standard Renewable Energy was selected by the City of Houston to conduct the installation for Downtown Houston’s first major public park of 12 acres.