Midcoast Maine – Green Buildings Open House 2010
Ever wonder what your friends and neighbors are doing in terms of sustainable technologies and renewable energy solutions?
Time to come on inside and find out for yourself! NESEA’s highly successful Green Buildings Open House is scheduled for October 2, from 10 AM to 4 PM.
Last year, more than 16,000 people toured some 500 sites from Maine to Pennsylvania, and this year’s event is expected to be even bigger!
Here’s a Map and Listing of Different Homes You Can Visit in the Midcoast Maine Area:
View NESEA Solar Tour – Portland and Midcoast Maine in a larger map
Tom and Beth Goettel
22 Bartlett Ln. ~ South Thomaston, ME
Tom and Beth Goettel’s home, located just off Route 73 in South Thomaston, boasts both a solar electric and a solar hot water system installed earlier this year. The 2.76 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system will produce roughly 3,700 kilowatt hours each year, and the 40-tube solar thermal system, paired with an 80-gallon storage tank, will produce roughly 80% of the family’s annual hot water demand. Together, these two systems will offset nearly 9,000 lbs. of CO2 emissions annually.
Keith and Mary Collins
BrightBuilt Barn
181 Mill St. ~ Rockport, ME
Known as BrightBuilt Barn, this LEED platinum net-zero home is a prototype for 21st century construction. By utilizing the talent of engineers and renewable energy experts throughout the state, Kaplan Thompson Architects has created a unique method of building. Building materials are non-toxic, recycled content and/or local to the region. The home is very well-insulated, demonstrates water conservation, has a 60-tube solar hot water space heat system, and a 6.75 kilowatt solar electric system. This goal of this prototype is to be the same cost per square foot as the average American home.
Andrew Stewart
Hope General Store
449 Camden Rd. ~ Hope, ME
Drop in and visit the heart of the hippest small town in Maine. Since 1832, the Hope General Store has served as the center of activity in this village just outside of Camden. Stop in and see what the 4.6 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system is making at any given time on the Store’s remote solar display, and, while you’re at it, introduce yourself to the locals, pick up a handmade sandwich, an Uncle Henry’s, and a six-pack of locally brewed Maine beer.
Jens Ostergaard and Gia Yannekis
35 Elusive Ln. (formerly the Masalin Road) ~ Lincolnville, ME
This new home just outside Lincolnville Center was built by the GO Logic team in Belfast (architect Matt O’Malia and builder Alan Gibson) and serves as yet another example of how a well-built home can save on energy for decades to come. This home is heated by passive solar gain and resistant electric baseboard, the use of which is offset by a 3.22 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system. The solar electric system will produce roughly 4,300 kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy annually.
Steven Fein
208 Bluff Rd. ~ Northport, ME
This passive solar home, located in the Bayside area of Northport, features a 3.68 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system. The well-insulated building space is heated by an EKO gasifying wood boiler with a high-efficiency propane boiler as backup. The home’s porch acts as a passive solar collector and can be thermally separated from the core of the house.
Ian and Zofia Weiss
57 Union St. ~ Belfast, ME
This new home in Belfast, built by homeowners/designers/architects Ian and Zofia Weiss, principals of locative DRD, features a 120-tube solar thermal space heating system paired with radiant in-floor heat, a Thermolec on-demand electric boiler and a wood stove for heat. Superior insulation, windows and doors, and proper air-sealing make this energy-efficient home a prime example of smart energy construction in Maine. Stop in and meet the family behind this unique downtown home.
Alan Gibson and Matthew O’Malia
GO Logic Homes
83 Crocker Rd. ~ Belfast, ME
This home on the Crocker Road serves not only as the prototype for the Belfast Co-Housing Project in Belfast, but is also on the verge of becoming the first certified Passive House in Maine. This simply-designed, three-bedroom, 1,500 square foot family home has no heating system – this super-insulated building is heated with the sun’s energy. The home also features a 2.76 kilowatt grid-tied solar electric array and a 60-tube solar thermal system for domestic hot water.
