On Oct. 6, homeowners in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs opened their doors to the public to demonstrate how they use solar energy and other renewable resources to heat water, power electrical appliances, warm their homes and send electricity back to the grid.Diesel Max at Meadow Lake Airport in Falcon was part of the tour, demonstrating how it converts waste oil from restaurants into fuel for diesel engines. (The New Falcon Herald reported on the process this summer.)The American Solar Energy Society and the Colorado Renewable Energy Society sponsored the tour, which is part of a national solar tour with more than 170 communities participating throughout the country.Homes on the tour make use of innovative building materials and are designed to take advantage of energy from the sun, said Tom Cannarella, spokesman for the American Solar Energy Society.”Solar and other renewable energy sources are increasingly being recognized for their advantages over fossil fuels,” Cannarella said. “Solar cells turn sunlight into electricity without using any additional fuel, which means no pollution. Solar cells generate electricity throughout their 20 to 30 year lifespan, quietly and reliably.”Local tours give the public an opportunity to see these technologies and designs and ask the people who live with them about cost, benefits, maintenance and savings.”The tour also included a “growing dome” with a small photovoltaic system and a large water tank that acts as a heat reservoir; a partially earth-bermed home, with active and passive solar features; a home with a photovoltaic system tied to the Colorado Springs Utilities electrical grid; a passive solar envelope home with a Trombe wall (a sun-facing wall designed to collect solar heat); a rammed earth tire home (earth ship) with a photovoltaic system; an energy efficient home built with SIPs roof R42, walls R36; a home with a photovoltaic system that provides 70 percent of the home’s electrical needs and a mobile environmental sciences lab from Colorado College that runs on biodiesel and has solar panels on its roof.The Pikes Peak Solar Tour starts at 10 a.m. at the Colorado Springs Utilities Conservation and Environmental Center on 2855 Mesa Road and runs until 4 p.m. The cost is $5 per adult – no charge for children. Participants are given a map to each house or business on the solar tour. Individuals provide their own transportation.
