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Northern Illinois Homes Part of Statewide Solar Tour

Illinois Solar Tour

Hoping to boost interest in renewable energy, the Illinois Solar Energy Association will hold its annual Solar Tour on Saturday, Oct. 3. About 90 homes and businesses across the state will hold open houses, including DeKalb, Rockford, Malta, and Woodstock.

Former high school science teacher, Brian Prybil, did several years of research, and waited for the prices to fall, before he installed solar panels on the roof of his home in Moline three years ago. And he's now saving about $1,000 a year in power bills.

He estimates his system would have cost $25,000 if someone else had installed it. But his labor, and government grants and tax breaks, cut his payback period to less than 10 years.

An un-intended benefit of the solar panels covering his roof is they reflect sunlight, and help keep his home cooler that it would be otherwise.

More than 50 people visited his home in the Quad-Cities last year during the Solar Tour.

Hours for the homes and businesses on this year's Illinois Solar Tour are Saturday from 10 am until 2 pm. A list of the sites can be found at www.illinoissolartour.org.