Annual Newton Solar/Green Homes Tour
October

This guided tour of solar homes and other larger solar-heated buildings in Newton has become an annual favorite since it began in 1999. The tour begins at the Newton Community Service Center, which has photovoltaic (PV) installations on the rooftop, and continues to four solar homes and other buildings with renewable energy-powered systems. On previous tours, these have included: The Fessenden School, which heats and cools some of its buildings with geothermal energy (latent heat from the earth's interior) Newton South High School, which also has PV installations on the roof

The Solar Homes Tour is held on a Saturday or Sunday in October. Tour participants bring a bag lunch and meet at the NCSC, 492 Waltham St. behind the CVS parking lot in West Newton. After touring the NCSC site, the group caravan and car-pool to the sites.

This event is hosted by Green Decade Coalition/Newton's Energy Committee in conjunction with North East Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), and American Solar Energy Society. NESEA also participates in the National Solar Tour the same weekend as the Newton Solar Homes tour, on Saturday and Sunday, throughout other cities in Massachusetts.

Proceeds from the tour help support upkeep of the solar panels at NCSC. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at door. Check the Events Calendar or Upcoming Events for the date and location of the next workshop. Pre-registration is recommended.