Local Star Energizes Homes and Buildings From Sea to Sea.

Boulder, Colorado—August 30, 2002—Did you know that more and more communities in America have some of their buildings powered by our local star—the Sun?

Starting Saturday, October 5th, many of these homes and buildings will be open to visitors to feel the warmth and see the light generated by solar energy. From 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., local ASES affiliates and chapters will sponsor educational and entertaining tours to demonstrate how solar energy is entering into mainstream building design.

The tour now includes commercial and institutional buildings such as:

• The BigHorn Home Improvement Center in Silverthorne, Colorado, where effective use of daylighting, built-in photovoltaics and radiant-floor heating make for pleasant shopping as well as smart business.

• In Southern California, you might like to stroll through the solar-powered elegance of environmental designer Casey Coates Danson's Brentwood residence.

• In Hopland (northern) California, you can check out the Solar Living Institute and see how sustainable solar power is also clean, beautiful and comfortable.

• Midwesterners can tour many renewable energy structures in Stelle, Illinois, which lays claim to being the "most solarized" town, per capita, in the U.S.

• And on the Mall in Washington, D.C., explore the solar village built by participants in the Solar Decathlon, a DOE-sponsored student competition to design the most efficient and attractive solar-powered house.

Over 800 buildings in 44 states will be available to visitors to learn how solar technology can increase your energy independence by tapping into the inexhaustible power of the Sun.
Someday your home could be the local star of the National Tour of Solar Buildings!

Pick up a copy of the September/October 2002 issue of
SOLAR TODAY magazine for a listing of tours, or check the ASES web site for a tour near you.

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The American Solar Energy Society is the national organization dedicated to the advancement of solar energy technologies and to leading the U.S. transition to a sustainable energy future.