Capital Area Solar Tour

Capital Area Solar Tour

Saturday, October 6

9:30AM-3:15PM

Bus Tour begins and ends at Capital Plaza Hotel

405 Wilkinson Blvd, Frankfort, KY 40601

To Register: contact Rachel at 502-514-3312 or [email protected]

The Capital Area Solar Tour is being organized by the Kentucky Solar Partnership and Frankfort Climate Action Network. A guided bus tour will visit four sites in Franklin and Owen Counties, visiting two homes and two businesses that offer a range of solar energy and green building features.

Earth Tools, Inc. — This Owen County business is powered by a 12.2 KW solar photovoltaic system. Their facilities use passive solar design, salvaged materials, rainwater harvesting, and a composting toilet . See their wide selection of walk-behind tractors, implements, & hand tools.

Capital Plaza Hotel — Frankfort’s largest hotel has recently completed a comprehensive lighting retrofit expected to reduce their electricity use by 25% and annual carbon emissions by 330 tons CO₂. Learn about other extensive water & energy conservation measures underway, including a recently-installed ozone laundry system.

Barkley/Harrod Home – Witness a demonstration blower door test and home energy assessment, to be performed by Owen Electric Cooperative during the Solar Tour. This will be the second blower door test at the Barkley/Harrod home and we’ll learn how much improvement they have made since their first test. Their home also includes a drainback solar water heating system.

Mary Frank Slaughter Home – Completed in 2009, this home was designed using Feng Shui principles. Almost all materials used to build the home were sourced within 250 miles of Frankfort and the home includes numerous salvaged and refurbished materials. The structure was built using Aerated Autoclaved Concrete blocks. The tour will include a demonstration Solar Site Assessment using a Solar Pathfinder shading analysis tool.

Cost: $10/person – $5/student

Tour begins at the Capital Plaza Hotel, 405 Wilkinson Blvd., Frankfort at 9:30 am.

Pre-registration is required to reserve your seat on the bus. Seating is limited.

To Register: contact Rachel at 502-514-3312 or [email protected]

The National Solar Tour is held on the first Saturday of October each year and visits thousands of sites across the USA. This year four Kentucky communities will have sites on the Tour – Berea, Frankfort, Lexington, & Louisville. On October 6^th join a Solar Tour near you and visit the homes and buildings that are forming the Renewable Energy Revolution. Talk to homeowners about their experiences using solar energy and other green building techniques.

For more information about each tour, visit  http://ases.org/solar-tour/find-a-tour/locations/kentucky-tours/.