Solar tour Saturday lets you see homes that use zero energy

When Golden, Colo., emerged arsenic the nation’s star vigor superior successful the 1970s, the thought of creating a ‘net-zero’ home—one that utilized nary inferior vigor astatine all—was beauteous overmuch a tube dream. Now tons of radical are making that happen; and you tin circuit immoderate breathtaking examples Saturday, arsenic members of non-profit New Energy Colorado signifier their 27th Annual Metro Denver Green Homes Tour—this twelvemonth of 11 homes astir the area.

That includes 1 that star pioneer John Avenson showed maine a fewer miles up Golden Gate Canyon Road (you tin circuit it aft you prime up a representation astatine American Mountaineering Center, 710 10th Street successful Golden, oregon registry online). Last year, homeowner/engineer Ron Suliteanu played a idiosyncratic relation successful designing his customized 3-bedroom/2-bath 2-story design, 2,800 sq. feet positive garage—choosing a 40-acre tract overlooking Golden and the foothills, and past loading successful the latest tech features for the champion performance.

“I wanted to trim my c footprint without giving up the blistery tub,” Suliteanu says. His 10-kW strategy by Buglet Solar Electric, paired with immoderate passive star plan and a heat-exchange strategy with a ground-based vigor pump, does each of that.

You’ll spot that blistery tub connected a view-swept deck, lavish appliances, a immense theater, and a store wherever helium charges his Tesla, ne'er paying a nickel for gas. He was already astatine net-zero during summertime months; earlier this week, erstwhile Buglet Solar enactment successful 2 much artillery units for him that should instrumentality him beneath net-zero during winter, arsenic well.

Buglet’s Whitney Painter says you could bash a comparable star electrical strategy for astir $20,000 aft the taxation credit; and Avenson says that a purchaser could physique a comparable performing customized location connected acreage, with the newest tech, for nether $1.2 million, each in. (You tin speech with energy-architect Peter Ewers astatine the Golden Gate Canyon house.)

For tickets to that and different homes sojourn MetroDenverGreenHomesTour.org. Register free, and marque a $10 donation if you privation to enactment this tour. Or halt by the American Mountaineering Center for a representation (they’ll big a greenhouse grounds and an electrical car rally astatine 3 p.m.).

The quality and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had nary relation successful this post’s preparation.