There is no simple answer. But there are a lot of small steps people can do to conserve energy, said Tom DeBates, whose Geneva home was recently featured on the National Solar Tour.

The tour was a national event that took place earlier this month.

“It’s the small things that add up,” DeBates said. “Energy conservation is part of the issue and using renewable energy is part of the answer.”

For 25 years, DeBates has worked as a building contractor and for the last six years has specialized in sustainable building practices through his business, Habi-Tek. For two years, he has been using a solar thermal system, which provides domestic hot water. When asked how much money he has saved, he said he wasn’t sure.

“When customers call me and tell me ComEd is costing them too much money, I tell them it’s really not that expensive and that they should just use less electricity,” DeBates said.

DeBates is a firm believer that if one’s motivations for using an alternative energy source are money or to be more green, the first step is to simply use less.

The Solar Tour was designed to educate people on how to use solar energy. Carol Gulyes, vice president of the American Solar Energy Society, agrees with DeBates.

“The Solar Tour has been going on for 12 years,” she said. “If people are interested in using solar energy, they should definitely do their research first.”

The American Solar Energy Society is a nonprofit organization with a goal of educating people on solar energy. There are workshops for people on how to get started, Gulyes said. This information can be found at www.asea.org.

DeBates said he was excited to have his home on the tour. Though the turnout was not what he expected, he was happy to get his message out that solar technology has matured and is both simple and reliable.

“I tell people I use nuclear fusion in my home. It’s just that the source is 93 million miles away. It’s called the sun,” he said. “The energy the sun provides in just one hour would be enough energy for the whole world. We just have to learn how to harness that energy.”