BY MECHELE COOPER

Staff Writer

Tom Fullam wanted to demonstrate how to build a $200,000 home that far exceeds what people expect for efficiency.

So he constructed a home that is equipped with a solar hot-water system that provides 98 percent of the domestic hot water and 80 percent of the radiant heat.

His Vassalboro home will be on display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday during the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's 2009 Green Buildings Open House.

"There's no combustion in the house -- no oil, no gas, no wood burning, anything -- because the other aspect of this is having very clean interior air," Fullam said Wednesday.

He said solar-heated water for heat is stored in an 120-gallon tank. If that isn't enough, he said, there's an electric element in the tank that will heat the house.

"On the coldest day of the year, you would only need the equivalent energy output of two hair dryers," he said.

"Energy Star is what the state is now calling a high-efficiency home," he said. "This is an electric house, so I expect to have, on an average, a $50-a-month electric bill."

His home is on the corner of Mudget Hill Road and Stone Road, off Route 3.

Pamela Lester, organizer of the event in the Northeast, said private homes, businesses, nature centers and public buildings will be open so visitors can ask questions and discover ways people conserve energy, save money, and protect the environment. Most of the homes will be open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., she said.

"Last year, NESEA had roughly 600 homes open for the tour in 10 states, and about 15,000 people attended," Lester said. "This is the 14th year we've done this. What's really neat is 32 percent of our tour hosts indicate that a previous tour influenced them to add sustainable energy features in their home -- not just solar, but other renewable energy features."

Examples of "green" features used in homes and buildings participating in the open house include passive solar heating, solar hot water collection and storage, radiant floor heating, the generation of electricity by using solar panels or wind, use of energy-saving appliances and techniques including superinsulation and sealing air spaces, use of sustainable and healthy building materials, and the use of water-saving fixtures.

State and federal incentive information -- tax credits, grants, rebates, and discount utility rates -- is available at www.dsireusa.org for renewable-energy and energy-efficiency technologies.

Check www.EnergyStar.gov for federal tax-credit information on qualified appliances and products, she said.

Lester said a complete list of buildings open to the public for the tour Saturday also is available at www.nesea.org.

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com