|
 Michigan Sustainable Homes & Businesses Tour
(formerly Michigan Solar Tour)
Part of the ASES National Solar Tour
October 6, 2007
10 am - 4 pm
The solar tour is free and self-guided. Visit as many sites as you would like from 10am to 4pm, in any order that you would like. Enjoy the good energy, and have fun!
Greater Lansing Area
Metro Detroit Area
Greater Ann Arbor Area
Southwest Michigan Area
Greater Marquette Area
Greater Traverse City Area
Greater Grand Rapids Area
Northwest Michigan Area
Northwest Michigan Solar Tour
Regional Coordinators:
Judy Cunningham, Michigan Land Use Institute
(judy@mlui.org or 231-941-6584 x18)
Clevenger Home
2599 190th Ave., Hersey
This home features a ground-mounted solar domestic hot water system and a recently installed photovoltaic system. Don’t miss this home to see how they make solar energy work for them every day!
Directions: Take US-131 Reed City exit (Exit 153). Take US-10 East to S 190th Ave. Take S 190th Ave South approx. 1.5 miles to Home.
2599 190th Ave
Click here for Mapquest area map
Contractors Building Supply
Renewable Energy Showroom
16880 Front Street, Copemish
Windows-Wind-and-Solar Showroom, An OEM Renewable Energy Design Center, Energy Star Custom Modular Homes, and Distribution Warehouse all housed under one roof. Located just off 115 in the heart of Copemish, MI – the biggest blue and green building in town!
Directions:
From the North: Take Hwy 115 toward Copemish. Turn Left onto 2nd Street / Cedar Street which will take you into Copemish. Make a Left on Front Street. End at showroom.
From the South: Take Hwy 115 toward Copemish. Turn Right onto 2nd Street / Cedar Street which will take you into Copemish. Make a Left on Front Street. End at showroom.
Click here for Mapquest area map
Cunningham Home
4466 Potter Road, Bear Lake
The Cunningham home is a great example of an in-progress straw-bale construction. The straw-bale portion of this home is being built by the homeowner and utilizes mostly local materials. All appliances, cabinets and furniture were recycled from various sources and the home also features a composting outhouse in partial use. Energy efficiency features include an on-demand water heater, compact fluorescent lighting and more. The home also utilizes passive solar design for heating.
Directions:
From Manistee: Take M-31 North to Potter Road. Take Potter Road West to the Home
From Onekama: Take M-22 North to Potter Road. Take Potter Road East to the Home.
Click here for Mapquest area map
Haverkamp Home
5465 S Ferris, Newaygo
This Newaygo home was designed with and for Salle Haverkamp and her daughter Sara. It is a classic Passive Solar design with a 60 degree angled roof facing south with a solar hot water panel attached to capture the sun’s energy on a yearly basis. The large amount of window area on the South side was carefully sized to allow the sun into the house in the winter and has a T-shaped wall inside to absorb the heat during the day and release it at night into the home. The beautiful stone work on the wall along with the floor staining was done by Salle. A stone and tile and shell mosaic was done on the rear of the wall behind the woodstove by Salle’s artist friend Sharon Smithem.
You enter the home through a multi purpose area. It’s an airlock entry, sunspace, dog washing station, and mudroom combined. From there you enter the kitchen & dining area with 2 steps down to the living area and 1/2 bath. The furnace room is in the NW corner and also contains the controls for the solar hot water system. The North bermed wall is thermally isolated from the rest of the house to act as a cold storage area. A spiral stair rises from the East side of the T wall into the loft area which has 2 bedrooms and a bathroom, with a laundry room in the NE corner of the loft.
The south roof has an evacuated tube solar hot water panel on ti which will take care of most of the hot water needs. Another panel could be added to assist in the radiant floor heating system. The radiant floor (pex) tubing was installed by the homeowners with an insulating radon barrier beneath. This energy efficient house is mainly heated by a woodstove using wood harvested from the property with an estimated 1 cord of wood needed per year. An electric water heater is used for heat when the woodstove isn’t being used.
This house has many “green built” features including; wood flooring and some trim purchased and milled locally (Ash, Oak, and Maple), stones used from the site, a church pew integrated into the dining nook, spindle used from the site, used tempered glass panels for loft railings, an old butcher block and a vegetable waste bin located in the kitchen counter top, etc..
This is an Energy Star home which passed the Michigan Build specifications which are similar to the green build specs. Stop out and see us. I, Dan Vos the builder- designer and Salle Haverkamp the owner will be here to answer questions.
Directions: Take M-37 North through Newaygo. Take the first left after the bridge and street light, which is 68th Street. Go to a 4-way stop and take a right – this is Ferris. Go a few miles to 5465 Ferris on the left. Drive back to the house, which is visible from the street.
Click here for Mapquest area map
Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC)
Grand Valley State University
200 Viridian Drive, Muskegon, MI
  
The 25,000 square foot MAREC facility is powered, in part, by a fuel cell which turns natural gas into electricity. In addition, the buildings photovoltaic solar roof tiles harness the solar power generated by the sun to create useful energy. The energy is stored in a nickel metal hydride batter system for use during peak energy consumption periods. MAREC also utilizes energy efficiency features such as natural lighting, sensor-controlled interior lights, low-energy fluorescent light fixtures, under-floor air distribution, and zoned heating and cooling networks to achieve maximum energy efficiency.
The MAREC building has been certified LEED-GOLD and is only the tenth building in the country to receive this designation. In addition to renewable energy, the building boasts many alternative and renewable building materials including flooring made from bamboo and recycled tires, and rigid wall surfaces made from pressed wheat.
Directions from the East: Take I-96W towards Muskegon to the US-31N exit. Take US-31N to the North Muskegon exit, a left lane exit just one mile past the Apple Avenue exit. Stay in the left lane. First light is Getty Street. Follow Business 31 west into Muskegon. Move to the right lane. Take Shoreline Drive exit, stay in the right lane. Go approximately ½ mile to Terrace Street. Turn right on Terrace. Enter the traffic circle and continue on Viridian Drive. MAREC is at the end of the road and has a multiple curved/saddled roof design and the facility is mostly window. Sign at drive says, “Grand Valley State University, Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center.”
Directions from the South: Take US-31 northbound towards Muskegon to the North Muskegon exit, a left lane exit just one mile past the Apple Avenue exit. Stay in the left lane. First light is Getty Street. Follow Business 31 west into Muskegon. Move to the right lane. Take Shoreline Drive exit, stay in the right lane. Go approximately ¼ mile to Terrace Street. Turn right on Terrace. Enter the traffic circle and continue on Viridian Drive. MAREC is at the end of the road and has a multiple curved/saddled roof design and the facility is mostly windows. Sign at drive says, “Grand Valley State University, Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center.”
Directions from the North: Take US-31 south towards Muskegon to BR-31 toward downtown Muskegon. Stay in the left lane. First light is Getty Street. Follow Business 31 west into Muskegon. Move to the right lane. Take Shoreline Drive exit, stay in the right lane. Go approximately ¼ mile to Terrace Street. Turn right on Terrace. Enter the traffic circle and continue on Viridian Drive. MAREC is at the end of the road and has a multiple curved/saddled roof design and the facility is mostly windows. Sign at drive says, “Grand Valley State University, Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center.”
Click here for Google area map
Onekama Hybrid Home
3047 Vanessa’s Way, Onekama
The Onekama Hybrid Home was the Show House for the 2007 Michigan Energy Fair. The home is a combination of sustainable materials, innovative design, and progressive building techniques. The home is currently undergoing review for LEED-H Platinum Certification.
Designed by Image Design LLC and constructed by Hybrid Homes LLC, both of Western Michigan, the home is built with insulated concrete forms and uses Andersen Windows’ 400 series to complete its extremely air tight, energy efficient shell. A solar hot water system and wind generator help the home conserve and produce its own energy. Green building products used in the home include finger jointed studs, CertainTeed cement board siding with fly-ash added to it, and solar reflective asphalt shingles.
Directions:
From the South:
Take M-22 North through Onekama. Make a left at E Portage Point Drive. Take for approximately one mile. Make a Right on Herkelrath Road. Vanessa’s Way is on your right about ¼ mile down the road. Make a Right on Vanessa’s Way and the home will be on your right hand side.
From the North:
Take M-22 South to Onekama. Just before you enter town, make a right on E Portage Point Drive. Take for approximately one mile. Make a Right on Herkelrath Road. Vanessa’s Way is on your right about ¼ mile down the road. Make a Right on Vanessa’s Way and the home will be on your right hand side.
Click here for Google area map
O’Shea Home
10156 Wiitala, Copemish
The 1800 square foot O’Shea Home heats their water with a wood/solar domestic hot water system. The closed-loop solar thermal system features two roof mounted solar collectors and an eighty gallon water tank.
The O’Shea’s use digital temperature readout to monitor their solar thermal system. Their system was installed in 1985 and continues to provide their family with their hot water needs.
Directions:
Take M-115 west out of Copemish to Yates Road. Make a Right on Yates Road. Follow Yates Road South to Wiitala Road. Make a Left on Wiitala Road and end at 10156 Wiitala Road.
Click here for Mapquest area map
Pasco Home
610 Spruce Street, Manistee
The Pasco home features a photovoltaic unit and a solar heating unit, both which provide energy to the home’s sunroom. The owner states that utilizing the solar heating system to keep the room at a comfortable temperature, as well as the PV system to provide power to the room’s lighting, enable her to use the room more frequently than without the systems.
Directions:
From the North or South: Take US-31 into Manistee. Take 8th Street East to Spruce Street. Make a Right on Spruce Street.
Click here for Mapquest area map
Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association
URL: www.glrea.org
Email: info@glrea.org
Lansing:
(517) 646.6269
Toll Free:
1.800.434.9788
 Join GLREA
Go to our membership area and find out how you can join GLREA!
Contact GLREA
Feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions or comments.
Current GLREA Board Members
Current GLREA Board Members
GLREA is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and contributions may be tax deductable. |
