The National Solar Tour of Homes, created by the American Solar Energy Society, was held on October 7. Dave Strenski , a principal engineer at Cray, Inc., and the founder of SolarYpsi.org, was at the Freighthouse all day on talking about solar power.

He states, “Solar power continues to drop in price as more people install systems. A typical Michigan home uses about 600 kWh per month, or 20 kWh per average day. With four hours of peak sun to capture that energy, the typical home needs 5,000 watts of solar panels to be 100 percent solar powered, and a contractor could do everything for about $15,000. The 30 percent Federal renewable energy tax credit would make your out-of-pocket cost about $10,000.”