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Oct 6, 2006 11:05 pm US/Central
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Tour Showcases Solar-Powered Twin Cities Homes
by Don Shelby
(WCCO)
It cost's a lot of money to keep the lights of the Twin Cities running. That's why some Minnesota businesses and homeowners are going green.
They're getting their power from the sun. On Saturday, the
Twin Cities Solar Tour lets anyone see how it works. One place on the list proves you can teach an old home new tricks and cut your electric bill, too.
Just one look at Nancy Hone's house and garden is a dead give-away of who she really is.
"We feel we want to leave the planet better than we found it," said Hone. "I hardly use my washer and dryer ... I hang everything out on my solar dryer which is a clothesline."
Of course there are other, slightly bigger clues, like the solar panels that catch the afternoon sun, or the thermal evacuated glass tube arrays on top of the house. They too collect the sun.
"And heat copper tubing with glycol in them that goes down into a 350 gallon tank in our basement to heat the water there," said Hone.
Through renovation, Nancy and her husband doubled the size of their house but cut their electric bill in half thanks to solar. Miles of copper tubes, wires and dials make the basement look a bit nautical. But it all has a purpose.
"The pipes in the ceiling are going to the 11 new radiators our addition," said Hone. "These are the converters and inverters that bring the electricity in. These are the 16 storage batteries that we have in case the power goes out."
Hone's storage batteries are good for 7 to 10 days, in the event of a power failure.
Her house is one of thousands on the national Solar Tour, giving folks an opportunity to see how energy efficient technology works.
"You have that magic of getting power from the sun. You know you're not contributing to the carbon dioxide level and not contributing to the mercury and asthma and premature death from burning coal," said David Boyce of the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society, who is helping organize the tour.
"There's a lot of people that want to save the planet as well," said Hone. "They just don't think they can do it, but they can. That's what we're here to show them -- they can do it."
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)