Want to switch your home to renewable energy? Visit Cape homes on solar house tour, Oct. 1
If you've been thinking about incorporating renewable energy and sustainable practices into your day-to-day life, but don't know where to begin, you're in luck. You can ask fellow Cape Cod residents who have already made the switch.
On Saturday , Self-Reliance, a Cape Cod-based nonprofit that focuses on energy issues and offers consumer education, is coordinating solar home tours on the Cape "to raise awareness around ways we can transition our homes off fossil fuels."
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The tours are part of a national event, the American Solar Energy Society's National Solar Tours, touted as the largest grassroots solar, renewable energy and sustainable living event in the country, attracting more than 150,000 across the country, as well as Puerto Rico.
Ask fellow homeowners about renewable energy
Participants can learn directly from homeowners and installers on the Cape about going to renewable energy and incorporating sustainable practices at home, from the costs to how it all works, to the environmental and economic benefits.
Thirteen Cape homeowners are participating in Falmouth, Woods Hole, Hatchville, Mashpee, Cotuit, Waquoit and Wellfleet.
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"The self-guided tour here on the Cape is on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with some homes having different hours and some offering a tour at specific times," said Self-Reliant Executive Director Megan Amsler.
A list of the locations, and the times, can be found at https://tinyurl.com/CapeCodSolarTour2022
The aim is to share firsthand experiences with sustainable energy technologies that cut down on the use of fossil fuels, reduce the emission of gases that contribute to climate change, save money and even improve health.
"This is really an opportunity for people to stop at homes on the tour and speak with owners about what it is like to have solar, heat pumps, electric vehicles, a urine-diverting toilet, etc. and learn from a personal perspective the benefits of installing these technologies," Amsler said.
What questions are homeowners asking about renewables?
She said many people have solar now, but there are still people who are overwhelmed and confused about what are good ways to choose a contractor.
"Do we go local? Or national? How do we know if what we are getting in our proposal is right for us? Should we lease or own? How big a system do we need?" she said. "Then we can get into the heating and cooling aspects with the installation of heat pumps. Will heat pumps work for my home? Should I make my solar system bigger to cover the electricity consumption of heat pumps?"
All of these questions are ones the staff at Self-Reliance hear often from people, Amsler said, "and we are here to help distill the answers with them."
"The solar/green home tour gives people a casual atmosphere to chat and ask those burning questions," she noted.
Each home on the tour may feature one or more sustainable technologies, including solar hot water, photovoltaic and geothermal technologies, heat pump water heaters, air-to-air or air-to-water heat pumps for space heating, electric vehicles, super insulated homes, net zero homes, examples of home-scale food production, composting and denitrifying wastewater systems or composting toilets
Self-Reliance was founded by the Housing Assistance Corporation, New Alchemy Institute and the Wampanoag Tribe in 1980, promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in the region.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Take a tour of Cape Cod homes using renewable energy, Oct. 1
