Health & Fitness
(Blog) How a Solar Energy Community Works in Iowa
The hot summer has us sucking up electrical power like crazy to keep cool, but the solar energy is also doing great things.
Thank you Mother Nature for drying my clothes, shading my house and growing my tomatoes!
The hot summer has us sucking up electrical power like crazy to keep cool, but the solar energy is also doing great things. The hibiscus, sunflowers, tomatoes and squash are loving this hot weather as long as I can keep their feet (roots) moist. It’s also great weather for hanging clothes out on the line!. I am very aware of the value of shade my large ash tree provides for my house.
In the 70’s, my father-in-law built passive solar panels to heat part of the house in the winter. It was amazing how much heat was produced! I remember thinking at that time that solar power would be the way we would heat our homes in the future.
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Nearly 40 years later, we still have not chosen to use the cheapest, cleanest form of energy for our homes and communities.
Except Fairfield, Iowa. Fairfield, Iowa currently has more homes with solar energy or other green building features than any other town in Iowa.
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I toured Abundance EcoVillage near Fairfield several years ago and saw that they were using solar power exclusively. In the house we entered, it was fun to walk on the sunroom floor and discover that it was actually a heat storage unit made of packed earth!
Lawerence Gamble, a resident of Abundance Eco-Village near Fairfield Iowa, said, "Our solar home has all of the conveniences that we want. Solar energy provides the electricity to run the computer that I am writing this article on, it pumps our water, it entertains us with audio and video, it washes our clothes, it bakes our bread, it powers our refrigerator and freezer, it powers our Internet and telephone communications (we are even setting up and powering a high-speed wireless network for our neighborhood), it runs our power tools, and it lights up our nights. Solar heat extends the season in our greenhouse, allowing us to eat something fresh every day of the year without burning fossil fuels.”
The Iowa Energy Center has information about the use of solar energy in homes and businesses If you choose to install solar power you can get a tax credit. You can talk to your legislator about providing incentives to bring solar energy to households and businesses across the state as well as other alternative energy sources.
How do you use solar energy now? Are you interested in retrofitting your home to use solar instead of fossil fuels? Comment here.