Organizers of Sunday’s sustainable homes tour and energy conservation fair have a goal: Eliminate the events.

The hope is that people who live in Lawrence will someday be surrounded by neighbors who use wind or solar energy, insulate their homes well and orient windows toward the sun, rendering demonstrations of such technology unnecessary, said Bruce Plenk, a member of the Lawrence City Recycling and Resource Conservation Board, which sponsored the events.

But with only four homes on Sunday’s tour, that day is well in the future.

“As far as we can tell, there’s not one new house being built in Lawrence that incorporates solar design,” Plenk said.

Drawing energy from nature can save money and the environment, said those attending Saturday’s events centered at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, but Kansas is behind many other states when it comes to energy-efficient dwellings. One reason is limited interest by the state, Plenk said. Another is high short-term costs. And a third is widespread misconceptions concerning just what constitutes a sustainable home.

“All you need is dirt and sunlight,” said Dan Bryant, whose earth-berm home was on the tour. “Dirt is insulation. Sunlight is free heat.”

Bryant said many people assumed an energy-efficient home required fans, pumps, expensive solar panels and other “buzzing things.”

But his ranch style home simply sits deep in the ground. It has thick floors that serve as a heat sink and windows that let in a lot of sunlight. The result is a gas bill that even in the coldest months rarely exceeds $60.

Likewise, John Watkins cut his energy bill in half by installing solar panels and two wind machines on his roof.

The cost of the technology was significant, Watkins said, and the system may not pay for itself anytime soon. But it does allow him a greater degree of independence, saves some money and conserves energy.

Scott Strecker talks about his strawbale home with Deana Antle, Blue Springs., Mo., center, and her brother, Lance Antle, Lawrence, during a home tour held in conjunction with the Home Energy Conservation Fair 2002 at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds. The house features native building materials and earthen plasters.

No doubt dollar signs and short-term thinking are what drive current building trends, Plenk said.

But while having a completely self-sufficient home might be very expensive, using some energy conservation techniques is not.

“I think a lot of people think that you have to spend a lot of money to have an energy-efficient home,” Lane said.

Kansas is not where it should be when it comes to sustainable architecture, some said, and it is certainly far behind other states.

California is a leading state in the field, and in some areas of the country people can receive government rebates for efficient homes, Plenk said.

Scott Strecker, left, shows photographs depicting construction of his strawbale home to visitors during a sustainable homes tour, part of the Home Energy Conservation Fair 2002. Strecker's home is north of Lawrence in southern Jefferson County. Also pictured are, from left, Lance Antle, Lawrence, Strecker's son Henry, 3, Alan Bowes, executive director of Tenants to Homeowners Inc. in Lawrence, and Paul Scott, Leavenworth.

Parts of Texas even require that every new house built meet certain efficiency standards, said Trayce Heidner, a local energy auditor.

Lack of legislation is one of the reasons Kansas is behind. Another reason is challenges presented by the seasonal weather, said Steve Lane, a local architect.

And a third is old-fashioned attitudes. Often developments won’t allow the strange-looking solar panels, Lane said. And Heidner said homeowners were more often concerned with their carpet than their insulation.

“People don’t want to pay for the things that they don’t see an immediate return on,” she said.