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Anchorage Alaska Solar Tour: Saturday, May 16th, 2015 – Tour Starts At 10am
Sites
Times
Building
Address
Area of town
Site #1
10am – Noon
Jake Struempler Shop
11741 Timberlane Drive
South Anchorage
Site #2
1pm – 3pm
Coronado Park Village
16820 Coronado Road
Eagle River
Site #3
3pm - 5pm
Lowe Residence
18700 England Circle
Potter Marsh Hillside
Welcome to the 7th Annual Anchorage Solar Tour!!! You are invited to join the largest grass roots solar event in
the USA… to be inspired!!! …and to see first-hand how many folks in Alaska are harnessing the power of the sun,
saving money, and creating jobs. Admission to the tour sites is free, and the owners of each site will be present, along
with some of the designers and builders, to answer your questions. Please limit your visit to the time slots listed below
and try to arrive at the starting time so that group tours can be conducted to make the best use of tour times. Please
also be respectful of private property and stay within designated parking areas.
Site #1. The first site features evacuated tube solar thermal that heats up both water and earth storage systems via
an ingenious and simple control system. This system is a great example of what Alaskan homeowners can do with
their garage and house heating system to save $$ and get away from fossil fuels.
Site #2. The second site is the largest flat plate solar thermal system in the entire state of Alaska (and Alaska is a very
big state!!!) that easily heats up 3,300 gallons of domestic water for 56 apartments. The incredible climb straight up
to the roof 75 feet above Eagle River metropolis is alone worth the effort as the solar array and the view is gigantic –
on a clear day, you can see Denali, the Knik Arm, Eagle River Valley, Sarah Palin’s House, and even Russia!!!
Site #3. The third and final site of this year’s tour is a great example of building a new super efficient home that is off
the electricity grid and has all the conveniences of other new homes… without the monthly bills!!! This custom
designed cliff top dwelling is powered by tracking solar PV and a vertical axis wind turbine.
****** More detailed info on these sites and maps are included in the next few pages ******
We look forward to seeing you at these sites on Saturday May 16 th! ~ Andy Baker, Anchorage Tour Organizer
Site #1 – 10am-Noon - Jake Struempler Shop - 11741 Timberlane Drive - South Anchorage
Jake Struempler is a mechanical contractor and innovator who has successfully completed a very ambitious and
innovative solar thermal collection/storage/distribution system on his large shop building/hangar. Below the floor he
has excavated a 36ft x 36ft x 8 ft deep pit and filled it with wet sandy gravel to make an earth heat storage battery.
The battery is lined with 4” blueboard + radiant barrier to keep heat from escaping to the surrounding ground. Jake
has also constructed a 2600 gallon concrete tank for water storage of solar heat. Thus he is able to store all the solar
heat that is collected and make use of it for both short term and long term heating needs.
On the roof of the shop are a total of 64 Oventrop evacuated tube collectors, each 6ft long with custom racking to
make south orientation and tilt angle of 75 degrees required for space heating. In the below ground mechanical room
there is an innovative vertical manifold with sensor ports. He is able to monitor the temperature of the earth battery
and water storage tank and circulate this heat for space heating of the radiant floor above. The system also allows city
water pre-heat by running tubes thru top strata of dirt battery before topping up to 120F with indirect gas fired
domestic water heater. The system was commissioned in November 2013, sending heat to earth battery and getting
30,000 - 40,000 Btu/hr @4GPM with 20F delta T. The shop building is detached and solar heat for radiant floor in
nearby house is delivered via insulated buried glycol lines. In 2015 Jake added Grundfos Magna3 circ pumps that
allow for flow rate, temperature and BTU monitoring in real time… and web based trending of all data!!!
*** This tour site is open from 10am to Noon. Please park in the driveway and allow room for other vehicles. ***
Site #2 – 1pm to 3pm - Coronado Park Village – Eagle River – 16820 Coronado Road
The Anchorage Solar Tour will feature what is now the largest solar thermal system in Alaska, on the rooftop of the
four story Coronado Senior Village Complex in Eagle River. Spanning nearly 300 feet across the skyline, this giant
renewable energy system is comprised of fifty-six flat plate collectors, each 4ft x 10ft. The steep tilt collectors are
anchored to the roof structure via a space frame aircraft aluminum racking attached to engineered glue lam roof
curbs. Sixty five feet below the roof, the mechanical room is host to 3,300 gallons of solar heat storage and a state of
the art packaged control/pump station. Owned and operated by Cook Inlet Housing Authority, the system was placed
on-line December 2014 and has been easily heating the majority of domestic hot water for 56 apartments. You can
explore this system top to bottom on the Tour this year, and witness the immense power of the Alaska sun working to
displace natural gas and avoid CO2 emissions. Tour site is open from 1pm to 3pm, park in visitor lot or on the street.
Site #3 – 3pm to 5pm - Lowe Residence - 18700 England Circle - Potter Marsh Hillside
This owner built - custom 5+ stars home was completed in the fall of 2012 and is thought to be the first of its kind to
hold an “off-grid” status that meets all building code requirements for the Municipality of Anchorage. At least 80% of
the energy needed is produced by our hybrid off-grid renewable energy system (by Alaska Efficient Energy Solutions)
harnessing both wind and solar.
In order to accomplish this, the building location had to work with the many elements of nature that are unique to the
lot. The home was developed with an orientation facing northwest so it could deflect high winds, as well as capture
majestic views of Cook Inlet and the Alaska Range. This energy efficient home has a high insulation value, a natural gas
high efficiency hydronic system and Energy Star appliances. It was also constructed using the “remote wall” concept of
CCHRC (Cold Climate Housing Research Center). The idea of using this wall design was to create a higher R-value that
makes for an extremely air tight home and eliminates thermal bridging. In addition to these features and benefits, the
owners believe this home is the first of its kind to obtain financing through a local bank (FNBA) with an off grid status.
Off Grid RE System Consist of the following equipment:
12 – Sharp 240 W PV Panels
1 – WattSun AZ-225 Solar Tracker
1 – UGE 1000 W EDDY GT/X VAWT
12 – Surrette 4KS 21ps 4 V batteries
1 – Xantrex XW Hybrid Inverter/Charger
1– Xantrex XW MPPT 80 600 solar charge controller
1 – Xantrex XW SCP (system control panel)
1 – Xantrex BSM (battery status monitor)
1 – Xantrex XW AGS (automatic generator start)
1 – Cummins Onan 20KW Natural Gas backup Generator