Long Island Solar Homes

More than 25 solar, wind and geothermal-powered green homes will be open to the public for free visits on Saturday, October 2nd from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as part of the National Solar Tour & Green Buildings Open House on Long Island. Tour visitors can learn about solar and other forms of clean energy and energy efficiency directly from the people in their community, watch electric meters run backwards, and see the actual savings on utility bills.These Island-wide open houses feature solar energy or have other green building features. The National Solar Tour & Green Buildings Open House is organized on Long Island by the non-profit Renewable Energy Long Island (reLI) with support from LIPA and by the American Solar Energy Society at the national level. Last year’s tour attracted 150,000 visitors nationwide and has been billed as the largest public renewable energy education event in the world.


“Whether you want to lower your electric or heating bills, make your home more comfortable, or just do the right thing and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, the best way to find out what you can do is to talk directly to home owners who have already done it”, said Gordian Raacke, Executive Director of Renewable Energy Long Island (reLI). “It’s your once-a-year chance to see dozens of green building features in action and get straight answers directly from fellow homeowners – that’s what our self-guided tour is all about.”


One home available to tour, the Dalglish residence in East Patchogue, was custom built and features a 1.8 kW solar electric system, a geothermal heat pump, passive solar heating, air radiant floors and structurally insulated panels (SIPs), which together have cut the owners’ energy bills considerably.


“We made up seven challenges when building our home, and we stuck to them,” said Campbell Dalglish of East Patchogue. “Our challenges were for the home to be energy efficient, environmentally friendly, sustainable, small but spacious, have a healthy home interior, be of mass appeal and be affordable. The design that came out of these challenges has changed our way of living and thinking and we love it.”


Another site that visitors can tour is the DeCarlo residence in West Islip. This home features a 10kW photovoltaic system, EnergyStar appliances, and high efficiency central A/C units.


“I have had my system since March 2004,” said Joseph DeCarlo of West Islip. “In my case the solar electric system paid for itself in just over 4 years. The best part is that there is virtually zero maintenance on the system. How many products can you buy that have that kind of track record?”


The self-guided tour is free of charge but visitors will need to obtain a free Visitors Pass from reLI. Every visitor will receive a free copy of the LI GreenGuide, a 64-page publication with articles on green jobs, energy audits, solar and wind energy, green technology, local farming and “The Green Yellow Pages,” a directory of more than 350 Long Island green businesses and organizations.


The Visitors Pass and more information on the tour and clean energy technologies & incentives are available at RenewableEnergyLongIsland.org or by calling (631) 329-8888.