Be a Part of CRC’s 14th Annual Boulder County Solar Week

Come join the CRC’s 14^th Annual Boulder County Solar Week! Solar Week is the premier event in Boulder County to learn about how to ‘green’ an existing home or build a new green home with topics including energy efficiency improvements, residential renewable technology, and green building basics.

Solar week kicks off Saturday, September 26^th with the Tour of Solar and Green Homes, which features two newly-built homes and 12 retrofitted homes in Boulder County this year. Tour highlights include plenty of solar thermal and photovoltaic (including roof-integrated) panels, and ground-source electricity, heating, and cooling, many creative passive solar designs, hundreds of sustainable options for interiors, a solar-powered plug-in hybrid, a graywater recirculation system, and much more! The tour starts with registration at one of two Green Products and Services Expos either in front of the CRC or in Louisville near the Farmer’s Market outside the Old Louisville Inn and the Louisville Public Library.

Following the Tour we offer a week of inspirational and educational seminars to help you bridge the gap from inspiration to action. Check out this year’s series at: http://www.conservationcenter.org/e_solarweek_workshops_select.html Seminars often sell out so be sure to register now!

New this year! BGBG’s Ask an Expert Event: One-on-one with local contractors to get advice specific to your home! Tap into the local expertise of Architects, Builders, Renewable Energy Specialists, Energy Auditors, Landscape Designers, and Interior Materials Specialists to get advice on projects from minor energy tweaks to new home construction! Ask an Expert is the perfect solution – affordable advice from local professionals who can help you get the most for your budget, your personal goals and the best efficiency for your investment. For more information: http://www.conservationcenter.org/e_solarweek_ask-an-expert.html

Volunteering for the event is a great way to get involved and to support the CRC! It’s also a great way to learn more about green building. Volunteers can help out during the tour or during one of 7 Solar Week seminars in Boulder, Longmont, or Louisville in the evenings during the following week. Volunteer shifts on the day of the tour are 9:00am-1:15pm for the morning or 12:45-5:00pm for the afternoon. Breakfast and lunch will be provided to tour volunteers. Volunteer tasks will include helping with registration at the CRC office, greeting tour participants at tour homes to confirm registration, helping tour participants understand more about the homes, and educating tour participants about services offered by the CRC, including handing out educational materials. Volunteers are not required to have prior knowledge in sustainable architecture, renewable energy, energy efficiency measures at home, or other tour topics. Contractors will be present at the homes to answer technical questions. Seminar volunteers help with set-up or break-down of the venue and registration. They receive free admission to the seminar (usually a $10 admission fee). Interested volunteers please email Julie Hayes at solarweek@conservationcenter.org with specifics of when and how you would like to help out.

Visit http://www.conservationcenter.org/e_solarweek.htm for Solar Week event details and registration.