Village Homes in Davis, California is often cited as America's first
solar community. From 1975–1983, 244 homes were built in the
neighborhood. All of them incorporated basic passive solar, north-south
orientation and the ability to heat water using the sun. Many more
houses went much further and pioneered innovative approaches to natural
heating and cooling, thermal mass, and active solar technologies that
were at the forefront of energy efficiency. These animations help to
describe such features.
