Solar homes are a hit in hundred of U.S. communities

Updated 10/1:

On Saturday, communities throughout the United States are organizing public tours to showcase solar-powered homes and businesses.

At least 648 such community tours -- triple the number last year -- have registered with the American Solar Energy Society, which is spearheading the National Solar Tour. Last year, the group says 150,000 people across 49 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico participated. Most of this yera's tours take place on or near Oct. 2.

This weekend in the Washington area, more than 70 energy-saving homes will be open to the public, and I intend to visit as many as possible. This amazing free event started 20 years ago with 20 homes but now gets so much interest that organizer Steve Gorman has to put some homes on a waiting for the following year. Gorman told me that when he opened his own house years ago, he got so many visitors, "I was hoarse the next day."

I remember crowding into Lynne Corn's basement in Arlington, Va., two years ago with about two dozen other people as she explained why she picked insulated concrete forms for the foundation's walls. A former biology professor, she had spent years researching building materials before breaking ground on her 1,450 square foot Craftsman style home.

Jim Talons, who put solar panels on the roof of his heavily shaded home in McLean, Va., raved about producing his own backup electricity. He did it even though he knew it would take 100 years to recoup the panels' cost. He joked: "I expect to live a long time."