Owners of 600 solar-powered homes showed off their abodes Saturday to promote the use of the sun's power

From Correspondent Susan Reed

LA CRESCENTA, California (CNN) -- Across the United States on Saturday, owners of 600 solar-powered homes showed off their abodes in a national tour designed to promote the use of the sun's power.

Ted Baumgarten's home was among them -- a traditional house in a traditional neighborhood where the electric bill for his pool is zero.

"You don't have to be a hippie, you don't have to be a millionaire," said Susan Le Fever of the American Solar Energy Society. "You just have to be somebody who's interested in saving money or taking care of the planet."

Most solar homes are in rural areas, where the cost of using electricity is prohibitive. But prices are coming down and technology is improving, so city dwellers are also getting interested.

The sun warms houses by day, and reserve power heats them at night. In most homes, the necessary solar panels can be discreetly placed out of sight. And solar systems will even work in areas where there isn't perpetual sunshine.

For example, Chicago architect Howard Alan's office is warmed by the sun's infrared rays, all year round. He says Chicago gets as much heat energy as northern Florida.

"Just because you can't see sun rays doesn't mean that we don't get heat energy," he says.

Solar systems can cost around $25,000. But the upside is that, with a solar generator, the electric meter runs backwards as a homeowner generates power rather than paying for it.