Saturday, June 6, noon to 4pm

The Mill Creek NetZero Home is on the tour this year.

We have a great line up of sites this year, showing solar power, solar water heating, geothermal heating, energy efficiency, and what you can easily do about reducing your home heating, electricity and water bills, along with your contribution to our province's air pollution. There are 7 sites on the tour this year -- we could have easily had 30!  4 sites are new.

The tour is free and is open to the public.  All of the sites are visited as an open house.  See our web site at www.ecosolar.ca for all the details.

Tour Site Summary:  see www.ecosolar.ca for details
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#1. Riverdale NetZero Energy House
     -- 9926-87 Street   www.riverdalenetzero.ca
     -- Site hosts: members of the home's design and construction team
     -- The house generates all its own heat and electricity on an annual
        basis.  No natural gas line.  Electricity bill expected to be $0
        to $200 per year.
     -- EnerGuide Rating: 100.4
     -- Last time to see the house before the homeowners move in.
Learn:  How cost-effective quick-payback ultra-efficient walls and ceilings
        are built.  How solar power and solar heating supplies all the heat
        and electricity in the house.  How sustainable materials and
        finishes give durability and high-quality indoor air.  Learn about
        net zero energy design, water efficiency, drain water heat
        recovery, ventilation with heat recovery.  What was learned over
        the first winter's heating season.
 #2. Riverdale Elementary School -– Touch and Learn Eco-Fair
     -- 8901-101 Avenue  http://riverdale.epsb.ca
     -- Site hosts: staff and friends of Riverdale Elementary School
     -- Bring your kids; have lots of fun.  See the Solar Energy Society
        demonstration trailer with operational solar power and solar
        heating systems for up-close viewing and asking questions.
     -- Enjoy a BBQ (by donation to support the school).
     -- Ride or bring your bicycle to the bicycle repair station.
Learn:  Ride a bicycle generator and generate the electricity to make
        your own smoothie!  Make cookies with the solar ovens.
        City of Edmonton Recreation Co-ordinators will run kid's games.
        See rain barrels so you can become more "water secure".
        How to plant native plants. Buy native plants for your yard.
        Find out how this school is caring for the environment, caring for
        its community, and caring for your kids.

#3. Mill Creek NetZero Energy House
     -- 9805 84 Avenue    www.greenedmonton.ca/MillCreekNetZeroHome
     -- Site hosts: homeowner plus members of the project team
     -- This is the second generation net zero energy house.  It produces
        all its own heat and electricity on an annual basis.  No natural
        gas line.  Electricity bill expected to be $0 to $200 per year.
     -- EnerGuide Rating: 100.4
     -- Last time to see the house before the homeowners move in.
     -- See the great article on the house in NAIT's TechLife magazine
        < http://nait.travelpress.com/index.php?dir=155109_051909_TL&spage=28 >
Learn:  See ultra-insulated walls.  See large-window passive solar heating
        and how to control overheating in the summer.  See active solar
        heating that supplies 90% of domestic water heating.  See a
        remarkable moveable solar power awning that supplies all the house
        electricity, the rest of the house heating (!!) and even supplies its extra to the
        grid.  See how a tiny wood stove and scrap construction wood
        provides 10 years of heating security.  See sustainable house
        materials and finishes.  See how to get high quality indoor air,
        recover heat from drain water, recover heat from waste air.

#4. Mills Geothermal House Retrofit
     -- 10821-79 Avenue, web site: www.ecosolar.ca/geothermal
     -- Site hosts: Andrew and Karen Mills, Bull-Frog Power and colleagues
     -- Geothermal heat in a 1949 house.  No natural gas bills.  See web
        site for photos and description of heat pump and house renovations.
     -- EnerGuide Rating: 79
Learn:  How a heat pump works, costs, savings, what the owner learned in
        doing it.  Talk with the homeowner about getting heat from the
        ground.  Learn how to buy wind generated power from "Bullfrog Power"
        representatives.

#5. Energy-Efficient Show Home
     -- 10007-148 Street  www.effecthomes.ca
     -- Site hosts: Les Wold and members of the project team
     -- Brand new R-2000-certified, energy efficient sound-proof
        heat-comfortable show home with solar domestic water heating,
        insulated concrete forms (ICF) walls and radiant floor heating.
     -- EnerGuide Rating: 86
Learn:  How to integrate energy efficiency and solar domestic hot water
        into a new home’s plans.  How ICF works.  How radiant floor
        heating works.  How to get the Alberta government's $10,000 cheque
        for an EnerGuide 86 house!

#6. The "Re-Use" House -- major energy efficiency retrofit
     -- 3609-117 Avenue
     -- Site hosts: Rose and John Elliot and a house auditor
     -- Great example of an energy efficient renovation on a 1957 home. 
        Added new high-efficiency furnace, interior insulation to exterior
        walls, upgraded basement insulation, triple pane windows,
        programmable thermostat, sealed outside penetrations, ventilation
        air heat exchanger, tile and cork flooring, compost bins, rain
        barrels, sheet mulching and a large garden.       
     -- EnerGuide Rating: 79
Learn:  How did they do this? What does a house energy audit give you? How
        to reduce your energy bills? What are the best things to do first?
        How to make a plan? Find out where the energy trouble spots are in
        a house; how to get a government cheque to help with the costs!

#7. The "Judy" House -- new stylish green house
     -- 11339-67 Street   www.ecosolar.ca/judy
     -- Site hosts: Michael Cormier and support staff
     -- See this very stylish house with Greenwork tile, carpet made from
        recycled pop bottles, recycled concrete and glass countertops and
        other great sustainable materials.
     -- See a house with a small 1048 ft2 footprint but over 4000 ft2 of
        living space -- it even has a garden on the roof to grow fresh
        vegetables and herbs! 
     -- EnerGuide Rating: TBC
Learn:  How did they do this?  Learn about the solar heating collectors
        from Edmonton's new solar heating manufacturer, insulated
        concrete forms walls, high efficiency windows, and air heat recovery.
        Come speak with builder about it.