Gliding along quietly in his tear-drop-shaped electric car, Jonathan Sawyer, a self-described "successful businessman," follows a long, winding dirt road along the edges of south Boulder's Spanish Hills neighborhood that eventually leads him home.

A bumper sticker with an American flag emblem is an instant giveaway to the electrical engineer's passion.

"I'm for solar energy, and I vote," the sticker reads.

At first glance, Sawyer's home seems ordinary, except for its size — double that of a typical home. The 4,500-square-foot, four-story house — with a perfect view of Boulder's Flatirons — is surrounded by pastures and "trophy homes," as Sawyer calls them.

Up close, the anomalies are obvious.

The power meter on the side of the home measures how much energy is being used — but it moves backward.

Welcome to the Sawyer family all-electric, solar-powered home, built in 1995.

"It's a big house, but it is extremely energy-efficient," Sawyer boasts.

He is the first customer in the Solarsource A partnership between Public Service Co. of Colorado and Altair Energy of Lakewood, the program installs "photovoltaic" systems: $6,000 to $10,000 solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity and can be used to help supply energy in a home or business.

Sawyer said his system is the largest of its kind in the country and, at $85,000 for 800 square feet of solar panels on two 45-degree-angled roofs, perhaps the most expensive.

Sawyer's electric bill has dropped from $80 a month to nothing, but the electrical engineer admits it is not for everybody.

"You couldn't justify this from an economic standpoint," he said, adding his system is the extreme.

Altair officials also say their system is not necessarily a cost-effective program, except for remote homes where power lines don't reach.

It is better for the environment and could become the wave of the future as prices come down, said Altair spokeswoman Jennifer Harrison Lane.

"You get the demand up, and the prices are going to drop," she said.

Sawyer, a wealthy co-founder of Freewave Technologies, said he could have bought a Jaguar for the price of his system, but for him it is not about money.

"I was always fascinated with energy efficiency," he said. "I felt guilty about the amount of energy I used, especially the source of that energy. ... I wanted to get all the power from the sun. "

He envisions a world in which wealth wouldn't be a competition of who has the most, cars, boats and airplanes, but by "I am generating more kilowatts than you," he said. "I feel that I am different."

For more information on Solarsource, call (800) 836-8951.

Christopher Anderson writes about people, places and things for the Daily Camera. Call him with story ideas at 473-1355.

larsource, call (800) 836-8951.

July 29, 1998