Southern Nevada Solar Home Tour – 2014

The largest climate change march in history recently took place in New York City. Over 400,000 people joined together to demand genuine action on the issue. Hundreds of thousands more participated in coordinated events around the globe. This is no longer considered the radical fringe. It is time to stop using fossil fuels.

Even those who made fortunes selling the stuff are bailing out. The Rockefeller Foundation has announced it will divest a total of $50 billion from fossil fuel investments. Stephen Heintz, an heir of Standard Oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, said the move to divest away from fossil fuels would be in line with Rockefeller’s wishes. “We are quite convinced that if he were alive today, as an astute businessman looking out to the future, he would be moving out of fossil fuels and investing in clean, renewable energy,” Heintz said.

The Future is Now

Solar energy is no longer the future. It is now. There is no better place on the planet to invest in rooftop solar than in Southern Nevada where our greatest resource is the sun. It can not only power your home but also an electric vehicle. The combined energy savings (electricity and gasoline) at our house is providing close to a 20% return on our solar investment. How much interest are you getting on your savings account? I’ve said for years that solar was a good investment. Now that our system has completely paid for itself and will last for decades to come, there should be no doubt.

On top of all that, we have drastically reduced our carbon footprint, helped clean the air, and made a contribution to a more robust and reliable energy grid. Everyone benefits when homes are powered by the sun.

PV Power!

Photovoltaic (PV) power converts sunlight directly to electricity, with no middle-man so to speak. PV does not use water (a real plus in the arid Mojave Desert) and rarely needs maintenance. In fact, our system has never required any attention at all. It just works. Panels are so robust that they come with performance warranties of twenty years or more.

Global implementation is growing rapidly and technological advances continue to improve performance while reducing cost. PV is easy and quick to install. Various options allow homeowners to buy a system themselves or lease one for little or no money up front. Either way, getting solar on every possible rooftop is of paramount importance to our future. The revolution to democratize and decentralize energy is happening right now.

Southern Nevada Solar Home Tour

The shift to renewable energy is a good way to control energy costs over the long term. One of the best ways to find out more is by attending the Southern Nevada Solar Home Tour on Saturday, October 11^th.

The tour is organized by Solar NV, the non-profit Southern Nevada chapter of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES). Each year ASES organizes the National Solar Tour with well over one hundred thousand attendees in communities across the U.S. The event provides a way to meet and learn from the growing number of people who are reducing their energy costs and carbon footprints through renewable energy, green building and various efficiency strategies. Download the ASES National Solar Tour Guide (PDF).

Smaller Focus, More Info

This year’s tour will be a departure from previous tours. Rather than being spread all over the valley, Solar NV is focusing on the northwest this year. The tour will feature fewer homes, but they will be closer together, making it easier to see them all since participants can spend less time driving and more time talking with the homeowner’s about their experiences living in a solar-powered home. Each stop on the tour is unique and since it’s self-guided, you get to decide what interests you most. The cost of the tour has been reduced to only $5 per vehicle.

The Southern Nevada Solar Home Tour has been a regular yearly event for the past decade and often sells out in advance. More information and registration details can be found at www.solarnv.org.