Tampa Bay, USF Celebrate Solar Energy In Tour Of Homes

The University of South Florida's Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) will host a second annual tour of solar homes and businesses on Oct. 2 that will take guests to environmentally responsible buildings throughout the Tampa Bay region.

"It is becoming clear to all of us that we need to move more towards clean and renewable energy both for the environment and energy security," says Professor Yogi Goswami, the Ramil Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and co-director of the Clean Energy Research Center at the university's College of Engineering. "However, most people don't know how these clean energy systems work and how they can use them in their own lives. The Solar Tour provides them the opportunity to see how other people just like them are using solar energy systems in their homes and businesses."

The event is part of the 15th annual National Tour of Solar Homes in which cities across the country will host similar events on Oct. 2 and 3. More than 160,000 participants will visit some 5,500 buildings in 3,200 communities across the U.S. The event is coordinated nationally by the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society and takes place each year on the first Saturday in October in conjunction with National Energy Awareness Month. This is the second year Tampa has participated.

During the self-guided tour, guests will be provided a map and route at the university's Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) laboratory at 3720 Spectrum Blvd.(adjacent to the USF campus at the intersection of Fowler Avenue and Spectrum Boulevard) and will be directed to  visit approximately 20 homes and businesses in Tampa, Clearwater and Apollo Beach, catching glimpses of what is possible in solar energy and green living.

Writer: Missy Kavanaugh
Source: Yogi Goswami, USF Clean Energy Research Center