WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 17: SOLAR POWER

Profile America — Thursday, January 17th.  There's been a lot of emphasis lately on making houses that are more energy efficient — with better insulation and windows that seal out heat and cold.  Many feature the use of solar panels to capture the natural heat of the sun.  The first house in America with solar heating and radiation cooling opened this week in 1955 in Tucson, Arizona.  A large, slanting slab of steel and glass converted sunlight into heat, which was ducted into the house.  In America's nearly 115 million occupied housing units, gas remains the most common heating fuel, outpacing electricity — 54 percent to 36 percent.  All other types of fuel are used in just under 9 percent of U.S. homes.  You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  Kane's Famous First Facts, 2129
U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder, Selected Population in the United States

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau