I’m showing the “phase 2” work I did upgrading my 1884 house, from an essentially all natural gas (only the fridge and lights were electric) to an all electric house (natural gas is from now on used only for heating from late Fall, Winter, to early Spring). The house includes a heat pump water heater and a heat pump dryer. I also made the move to an all electric car (and entirely got rid of my gasoline car for good). A Tesla charger was added in the garage. The house and the electric car are currently 85% solar, on a yearly average basis. (From May to October the natural gas valve was turned off for the first time this year, which triggered a series of interesting inquiries from my natural gas provider).

I’m starting to plan “phase 3”: an additional 8 panels on the house’s rooftop, plus a heat pump heating system for the late Fall and early Spring periods (plus Summer air-conditioning).

After phase 3 is complete I estimate that the house should be 100% solar (that’s including the electric car average utilization), but excluding 3 Winter months of heating: from December to February only). In addition, two rain barrels collect from the garage’s rooftop (where the solar panels are located) enough water for the garden.

System Size: 7.2 kW

• Electric Vehicles • Electric Vehicle Charging • Energy Efficiency Upgrades • Gardening/Xeriscaping • Heat Pump • Solar PV - Rooftop • Water Harvesting

Where: 704 Armstrong Ave, Saint Paul, MN

When: Oct 7, 9a- 4p

We installed solar panels on our timber framed barn, a barn that we rebuilt. It’s a gambler style, the lower steep pitch has 30 250W panels and the upper shallow pitch roof has 15 250W panels.

The ground floor is were we keep the vehicles, one is our Toyota Prius Prime hybrid that we charge.

There is also 30 chickens on site.

System Size: 11.25 kW

• Electric Vehicles • Electric Vehicles Charging • Energy Efficiency Upgrades • Gardening/Xeriscaping • Recycled Building Materials • Solar PV - Rooftop

Where: 2097 Quant Ave N, Stillwater

When: Oct 6 - 8, 10a - 4p

Linda and Mike met at a MRES sponsored Solar Class about 12 years ago. Solar brought them together! They were both close to retirement, sold their respective houses , pooled their money and built one of the most sustainable net-zero houses in Chisago county.

System size: 10 kW

HERS rating: -7

Solar PV - Ground Mount • Passive Solar • Heat Pump(s) • Electric Vehicle(s) • Electric Vehicle Charging • Energy Efficiency • Zero Energy Home • Energy Star Certification • HERS Rated Certification • Energy Monitoring

Where: 47399 Anchor Ave, Stanchfield, MN

When: Oct 7, 10a - 4p

This is an urban home site set in the macalester-groveland neighborhood of st paul. feel free to stop by and see what projects we have completed to make our home more eco-friendly.

Solar PV - Rooftop • Geothermal • Electric Vehicle(s) • Electric Vehicle Charging • Energy Efficiency

Where: 1559 Fairmount Avenue, Saint Paul, MN

When: Oct 7, 10a - 4p

These homeowners went solar because it’s a core component in the sustainable retirement home they wanted. In designing their home, they had the following criteria:

Retirement home: Low maintenance, low utility costs, handicap accessible, and everything they’d need on the ground level.

Sustainability and resilience: Concerned about climate change, food security, and resource depletion - incorporate permaculture, eliminate fossil fuels as much as possible, and to grow or source as much food locally as possible.

Financial security: Like many Americans, these homeowners have not been able to save a great deal for retirement. Investing in assets like solar that fix a large portion of their energy costs for decades, in addition to reducing their energy needs through passive solar and energy efficiency, help to insure they can afford to live in their home regardless of external energy prices.

Family: These homeowners faced the challenge of having large families to entertain occasionally without having a big home, so they had to get creative.

System Size: 4.7 kW
HERS Rating: 27

Battery Storage · Composting · Electric Vehicles · Electric Vehicle Charging · Energy Efficient Upgrades · Heat Pumps · Gardening/Xeriscaping · Passive Solar · Solar PV Rooftop · Chickens · Fruit Trees · Berry Bushes · Vegetable Garden · Canning Kitchen · Water Harvesting

Where: 107 11th st NW, Rochester, MN

When: Oct 7, 10a -4p

Everlight Solar is the fastest-growing solar company in the Midwest, with operations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. Everlight prides itself on making the switch to solar headache and hassle-free by supplying panels and taking care of the installation with no upfront costs. Solar energy is a cleaner and safer alternative that gives customers peace of mind and puts the power back into their hands.

System size: 12.54 kW

Sustainable Living · Energy Efficiency · · Solar PV Rooftop

Where: 5801 Edgewater Dr, Savage, MN

When: Oct 8, 12p - 4p

System has been installed and generating since Aug 2015 (8 years). Owner has also been driving electric vehicles and charging at the home since 2015. See the Let’s Go Zero Carbon blog at https://letsgo0.com for more information.

System size: 8.4 kW

Electric Vehicle(s) · Electric Vehicle Charging · Energy Monitoring · Solar PV - Rooftop

This site has been canceled for the 2023 Tour. Apologies for any inconvenience!

All electric home complete with Tesla solar roof, Tesla PowerWall backup battery, Arctic air to water heat pump utilized for both infloor heating and cooling, Zehnder ERV, Canadian Access windows and doors and two electric wall chargers. We got Tesla to allow us to put their solar shingles on our south facing home and garage roofs and have metal roofing on the north faces. We utilized old barn siding from my family farm for the garage and breezeway walls and for the ceiling of the east deck. All rainwater is diverted into a catch basin (rain garden) that can handle up to a 5 ” rainfall. A minimal lawn space is maintained for overflow parking and snow removal. All other space is being restored to pollinator prairies. We use wicking bed gardens to conserve water.

Learn more about the home here.

System Size: 32 kW

Passive Solar · Heat Pump(s) · Electric Vehicle(s) · Electric Vehicle Charging · Battery Storage · Energy Efficiency · Gardening/Xeriscaping · Recycled Building Materials · Sustainable Living · Water Harvesting · Energy Monitoring

Where: 500 Elmwood St E, Lanesboro, MN

When: Oct 7, 10a - 4p
Oct 8, 10a - 4p

This single-family home was built in 1910 and retro-fitted with numerous features and strategies for sustainability, including: building integrated rainwater catchment, solar thermal in floor radiant heating, SDHW, ridge sky lighting, PV powered circulation pump, Venturi indoor ventilation, living roof, whole house water filtration, and urban forest harvested woodworking details throughout.

• Biomass Utilization • Energy Efficiency Upgrades • Xeriscaping • Passive Solar • Recycled Building Materials • Solar Thermal • Sustainable Living • Water Harvesting

Where: 1101 15th Ave. SE, Minneapolis

When: Oct 6 - 8, 10a - 4p

I’m just a little more than a year into this journey, and am still learning. There are so many trees in SW Mpls that siting a solar setup is a challenge on an older cottage-style house.

System Size: 9.9 kW

Solar PV - Rooftop

Where: 4245 Beard Ave S, Minneapolis

When: Oct 7, 12 - 4p

All electric home complete with Tesla solar roof, Tesla PowerWall backup battery, Arctic air to water heat pump utilized for both infloor heating and cooling, Zehnder ERV, Canadian Access windows and doors and two electric wall chargers. We got Tesla to allow us to put their solar shingles on our south facing home and garage roofs and have metal roofing on the north faces. We utilized old barn siding from my family farm for the garage and breezeway walls and for the ceiling of the east deck. All rainwater is diverted into a catch basin (rain garden) that can handle up to a 5 ” rainfall. A minimal lawn space is maintained for overflow parking and snow removal. All other space is being restored to pollinator prairies. We use wicking bed gardens to conserve water.

System Size: 32 kW

Passive Solar · Heat Pump(s) · Electric Vehicle(s) · Electric Vehicle Charging · Battery Storage · Energy Efficiency · Gardening/Xeriscaping · Recycled Building Materials · Sustainable Living · Water Harvesting · Energy Monitoring

Learn more about the home here.

A 17-Kw array, a super-insulated total gut rehab, and a geothermal heat source all come together to make this all-electric house net-positive — producing more electricity than it uses over the past four years of operation. These owners wanted to prove that an ordinary old house on an ordinary lot in a chilly city like Minneapolis could indeed be net-positive — producing 15,000 to 17,000 kWh, vs 11,000-14,000 consumed per year, over the past four years.

Electric Vehicles · Energy Efficient Upgrades · Geothermal · Heat Pumps · Net Zero · Solar PV Rooftop · Super-insulated Walls

For more info on the features of this sustainable home, click here.

We built a small bungalow replacing an old falling down farmhouse on 6 acres of pastureland. Our story is one of starting small and building in sustainability over time. When we first bought the property, it was teeming with nettles, burdock, and thistle, barb wire fencing and scrubby junk trees but it also had a beautiful old oak family and a winding creek. We adopted this neglected land, vowed to care for it, and try to live sustainably on it. We had a limited budget but solar was a must so we started with a 2.2 kw roof mount system that had room for expansion. To help with heating costs we also installed a wood stove. The stove could serve as heating and cooking backup in case the power goes out. Because it's a country home, we have well and septic. Our land is hilly and rocky and the aquifer is a long ways down. The well must pump from 500 feet and the septic is a modified mound system, also with a pump. That's where much of our electric expense comes from. Our solar system doesn't cover all our electric needs, but it offsets the cost of that pricey well and septic. Growing food has been a unique challenge. Our rocky limestone soil is very alkaline and water quickly runs down the steep hills before soaking in. But we've experimented and learned to grow a bounty of fruit and vegetables. I joke that when we moved here we needed to learn to garden with a pickaxe but instead we installed raised beds and created a dry streambed to capture rainwater, directing it to a swale and berm system for our orchard. We prune our fruit trees dramatically so we can have variety but still use everything we produce and don't have to climb ladders to tend them. To be more sustainable we strive to conserve and limit waste and accommodate as we age in place. What might interest some in our homestead is that it's not a big glamorous project, once and done, off grid, but a series of steps in that direction. With a small budget and a bit of creativity a lot can be accomplished.

System Size: 2.2 kw

Gardening/Xeriscaping · Solar PV - Rooftop · Passive Solar · Water Harvesting · Sustainable Living

These homeowners went solar because it’s a core component in the sustainable retirement home they wanted. In designing their home they had the following criteria:

Retirement home: Low maintenance, low utility costs, handicap accessible, and everything they’d need on the ground level.

Sustainability and resilience: Concerned about climate change, food security, and resource depletion - incorporate permaculture, eliminate fossil fuels as much as possible, and to grow or source as much food locally as possible.

Financial security: Like many Americans, these homeowners have not been able to save a great deal for retirement. Investing in assets like solar that fix a large portion of their energy costs for decades, in addition to reducing their energy needs through passive solar and energy efficiency, help to insure they can afford to live in their home regardless of external energy prices.

Family: These homeowners faced the challenge of having large families to entertain occasionally without having a big home, so they had to get creative.

Community: Being a part of a community was important to them.

Battery Storage · Composting · Electric Vehicles · Energy Efficient Upgrades · Heat Pumps · Passive Solar · Solar PV Rooftop · Chickens · Fruit Trees · Berry Bushes · Vegetable Garden · Canning Kitchen

This home has a 4 array, 42 panel with 42 micro-inverters 9 kW roof-installed solar system. Installation was done by All Energy Solar in the spring of 2016. Since installing the system, this family has had a greater awareness of overall energy consumption and have been making smarter choices when using and choosing to replace appliances. It has also encouraged them to create new habits around energy consumption and led them to broaden their involvement in the fight against climate change. Most importantly, it has decreased their reliance on fossil fuels!

Solar PV - Rooftop · Electric Vehicles

The presentation of plans culminated in construction of a home that has been certified as a Passive House Plus – only the second house in the U.S. to achieve this certification. Other design goals included full accessibility for aging in place, low environmental impact building materials, long life-cycle materials that require minimal maintenance, and low-impact landscaping that is welcoming to wildlife. Dave offers a photographic tour of the home’s features and construction details and talk about the comfort and performance of the home.

Learn more about the design process here.

Click here to view the video tour.

This small family home boasts a 2.8 kW system, purchased in partnership with a co-op through Solar United Neighbors, saving them 30% on the install.

Solar PV - Rooftop

Tim’s Tiny House is quite unlike any other house on the tour. It’s scale model home showcasing renewable energy and energy efficient features!

Energy Efficiency Upgrades · Heat Pumps · Integrated Systems · Net Zero · Passive Solar · Solar PV - Rooftop · Solar Thermal · Sun Tubes