Summer Solar Tour and
Power Trip Energy Open House
Saturday, July 9th
Solar Tour from 10 am - 2 pm
Post-Tour Q & A Session 2 - 3 pm
Post-Tour Party from 3 - 6 pm
Location: Power Trip Energy's New Shop
83 Denny Avenue, Port Townsend
You are invited to the Jefferson Solar Tour and Power Trip Energy Open House special celebration on Saturday, July 9th. Solar power, energy efficient homes, and a Nissan Leaf electric vehicle will be on display from 10 - 2 pm. Tour maps and other information will be available at the tour kick-off located at the Power Trip Energy office located at 83 Denny Ave, Port Townsend in the Glen Cove industrial park.
Following the tour from 2 - 3 pm at the Power Trip Energy shop there will be a post tour Q & A session. A post-tour party celebrating the recent opening of Power Trip Energy's new shop will follow the tour from 3 - 6 pm. The party will feature music by Port Townsend's own Southbound featuring George Resendez and a salmon dinner by In Season Catering. The public is welcome to this event and dinner is $15 per person. This event will provide an opportunity to meet some of the 240 families who own a solar array installed by Power Trip Energy.
Solar Tour Highlights
This year's tour will feature a Nissan Leaf owned by Sequim residents Ann and Bob Sextro. Ann and Bob have two solar PV systems located on their Clallam County home and shop installed by Power Trip Energy and just this June acquired their Leaf which can travel up to 100 miles on a full charge. The annual electricity generated by their solar PV systems will provide plenty of "fuel" for all their local driving needs as well as most of the electricity used by their home on an annual basis. The Sextro's are not "off-the-grid," they are connected to the PUD's utility grid thereby selling power back to the utility in the summer and building up electricity credits for the fall and winter when our area enjoys less sunshine. The Sextro's Nissan Leaf will be on display at Power Trip Energy's shop during the solar tour.
Also on this year's tour will be two Port Townsend residences that use innovative materials and designs to achieve a high level of energy efficiency. Kathleen Hudson's home combines structurally insulated panels (SIPS), passive solar design, and ventilation with heat recapture together with solar equipment to capture and store heat in the summer for use in the winter. Hot water from the 90 evacuated solar thermal tubes will be used both for domestic hot water and with excess heat during the summer pumped into an insulated hill on the north side of the home. In the winter this stored heat should slowly release back into the home reducing the need for supplementary heating.
The Hudson home is also equipped with a 5.52 kW solar PV system.
Tom Engel's innovative home was designed to Passive House standards. A Passive House utilizes a higher than normal level of insulation, ventilation with heat recapture, and passive solar design to reduce heating needs by 70 - 90% compared to a conventional home.The Engel residence is also equipped with a 3.32 kW grid-tied solar PV system that will make most of the electricity the home utilizes during the year.
All together there will be eleven residences and two businesses on the tour. Solar PV (grid-tied, grid-tied with battery back-up, and off-grid), solar thermal, energy efficient homes, and a solar PV electric car charging station will be on display. There will also be workshops on solar power held during the day.
A complete list of tour sites and maps will be available at www.solarwashington.org. For more information or with questions please contact Jeff Randall at 360-301-9019.
