Straw-bale construction at the Kungas' home, a vent tower at the Lunds' and direct access to the Rail Trail at the Chathams' house in Park City: These are just a few of the interesting details we observed during the recent Green Home Tour, which was billed as a showcase for environmentally wise building and materials.

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We found passive-solar design, Energy Star appliances and great insulation in every home. Dual-flush toilets and low-flow shower heads abounded. So did cork floors. Most of the homes had been painted with low VOC paints, which now are available off the shelf.

Highlights from four of the Salt Lake homes:

• Walking up to the Plachta-Carlson-Gotts' home, which is now four years old, you noticed the xeriscaping. The buffalo grass had faded in the summer sun but seemed thick and healthy. Inside, architect Angela Dean gave tours, talking about passive-solar design and radiant-floor heating. The home, which is in the Millcreek area, uses a ground-source heat pump. (Water is pumped through several hundred feet of buried pipes to pick up heat in the winter. In the summer months the pipes are relatively cool, thus cooling the water that flows through them.) The owners spent $650 to heat their 3,400-square-foot home last year and $40 to cool it.

• The Lloyd home in the Harvard-Yale neighborhood was remodeled while keeping to a $75 per square foot budget, which forced owner/architect Warren Lloyd to "reduce, reuse and recycle material." Inside, you saw trim made from joists salvaged during the demolition of an old building on Pierpoint Avenue. In the kitchen, you were drawn to the mosaic tile — made by Oceanside from recycled glass. In the bathrooms, you were unable to guess that the countertops are made of densely pressed paper. You noted the use of Japanese-style shoji shades on the north windows. They hide the neighbor's home while still letting in lots of light. The kitchen cabinets were made by Ervin Raber (13238 TR 473, Lakeville, Ohio). Raber is Amish, so no power tools — and thus no electricity — were used in their construction.