Health & Fitness
Market Morsels from Collegeville Farmers' Market - Solar Homes in the Collegeville Area 1754-2012: Common Sense Building
Pennsylvania farmhouses embody, and are often represented in, much of the sustainable construction movement. Though "green building" may appear to be a complex process, it's simple.
What did Collegeville farmers know over a century ago that we are still learning today? A lot!
Sustainable? Green? Passive Solar? Photovoltaic’s?
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These are modern words, but according to Jon Costanza, President of SunPower Builders, these designs and building practices were just old-fashioned good sense.
Jon will be speaking at the Collegeville Farmers Market, Saturday at 10 a.m. about his favorite combination of topics - energy efficient homes and solar energy systems.
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Good, Old-fashioned, Green
Pennsylvania farmhouses embody, and are often represented in, much of the sustainable construction movement. Though “green building” may appear to be a complex process, according to Jon, it’s simple.
He will discuss the common sense “technologies” of “farmer-dumb” design and the simple details of the Master-builder of yesteryear and how they are being rediscovered and popularized in the “new” sustainable and energy-efficient buildings of today.
Local and Sustainable Building
Jon is a long-time area resident and sustainable energy expert, who built his first solar house in 1972 at the age of 18. He says he “never looked back.” His small family business, SunPower Builders has deep roots in Collegeville, calling it home for the last 33 years.
They occupy a unique niche, integrating solar technology and energy efficiency into farmhouse renovations, restorations and seamless additions, as many as 50 farmhouses, historic structures, and solar homes within 20 miles of our farmers market.
So head out to the market this weekend, enjoy all the fresh, local products and produce and visit Jon as he discusses the SunPower Builders projects of Collegeville, the sustainable movement of “today”, and his hopes for the future.
This interesting workshop is free and will take place under a shaded tent at 10 a.m. on Saturday, at our market, 460 S. Main Street, behind Lunchbox Cafe. Jon will be available to answer any questions you have about local historic houses and sustainable building practices.
