INDIANOLA — With a helpful flare from the sun and a burst of energy, the National Solar Tour will flash into Indianola Saturday. One local resident is opening his house to the public with hopes that others will be dazzled into trying the alternative energy option.

Indianola’s Bob Dash said he put the finishing touches on his solar powered house in April, fulfilling a dream that he’s had since college.

“As an educator, I wanted to share the information with others,” he said, adding that he feels that he has already inspired people to look into solar power.

“Our house is one of the houses on the tour,” said Bainbridge Kitsap Solar Tour coordinator Tammy Deets, whose home features a solar-powered hot water system. “The system is up there doing its thing, waiting for people to come and look at it.”

Though he doesn’t use solar power as a part of his energy-efficient building practice, Kitsap Home Builders Association executive vice president Art Castle said the methods are sound and hopefully will become more mainstream in the future.

“There are a whole variety of techniques that we use in building homes,” he said, noting that while this doesn’t include such “exotic” systems as solar power, it does focus on a wide range of energy-saving components.

Castle said he is interested in attending such tours, however, to get a closer look at the systems.

Though labeled exotic by some, the solar power panels and systems are increasing in popularity, Deets said, and more people become interested after they attend a tour.

There is a myriad of different solar power systems that could appeal to different people, both Dash and Deets agreed. While Deets and her family opted for a hot water system, Dash installed a system to provide his entire household with solar power.

He also decided, within that system, to surplus excess power to the electrical grid that powers his neighborhood. In doing so, he is reimbursed for the energy and provided with power during the grayer winter months.

“The grid acts like a giant battery,” Dash said, adding that even though his solar panels can absorb the sun’s rays on the gloomiest of days, it will prevent his family from having to take cold showers if there isn’t enough energy to go around during the winter.

“Basically, we just want people to know that these kind of systems work,” Deets said. “What better way to show people than by real-life example?”