Three spectacular Kane County homes will be featured this coming weekend in one of the coolest, eco-friendly home tours you can imagine.

The U.S. Green Building Council-Illinois’ third annual GreenBuilt Home Tour set for the weekend of July 25-26 will give Kane County residents a one-time chance to see 16 healthy and sustainable homes that showcase the best and brightest designs in the United States — three of which are in our own back yard.

“The tour provides one-time public access to both completed and in-progress homes, each one designed and constructed to demonstrate a number of green building approaches, varying architectural styles and settings,” said Brian Imus, executive director of the USGBC-Illinois and the organizer of the home tour. “It’s about bringing to life the difference green building design and construction can make for anyone interested in saving money and the planet.”

Since the tour’s debut in 2013, 31 houses have been shown and more than 3,000 visits have been tallied. This year’s event will involve more than 100 volunteers and docents, as well as each home’s architect or builder on site to assist visitors when exploring each residence. The tours include nine LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) rated homes, six Energy Star Rated homes, six homes that utilize solar energy, and four renovated homes. These homes are in communities across the Illinois region including Chicago, Forest Park, Wilmette, Batavia, Pembroke Township, Hampshire, Wildwood, Oak Park, Park Ridge, Geneva and Romeoville.

Homes are open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. both days of the tour. Tickets are $5 to visit a single home or $20 for an unlimited visit passport.

We can’t stress this enough: Click on the links below to check out the Kane County stops along the tour:

• Uber Haus (529 Eklund Ave., Geneva, IL 60134)
• Batavia Eco House (231 Shabbona Trail, Batavia, IL 60510)
• Swainsen’s House at Serosun FarmB (45W489 Berner Road, Hampshire, IL 60140)

Homes that qualified to be part of the tour had to be third-party verified through nationally recognized programs such as Energy Star for Homes, LEED for Homes, GreenStar, the National Green Building Standard, HERS rating, and Passive House.

For more information about the GreenBuilt Home Tour for 2015, please visit www.greenbuilthometour.org. All proceeds from the tour go to support USGBC-Illinois chapter initiatives.

U.S. Green Building Council-Illinois is a member driven non-profit that advances buildings and communities that are sustainable, prosperous and healthy. For more information, visit www.usgbc-illinois.org.