CHEYENNE - Dreams of our better selves often are born as little background voices, like a chorus of frogs.

"I should - start an investment club - run for the state House seat - get in shape and lead bicycle tours though the mountains . . ." Dick Krahenbuhl is in a stage in his life where one would expect the frogs to be things of the past.

How can frogs survive in the hot climate of this 70-year-old's paradise, a land where he is retired from "real work," vibrantly healthy and financially comfortable? But they do, and they still chirp while he's seated on his bicycle during one of his long rides on the Greater Cheyenne Greenway.

They get started when he sees what he calls "starter mansions" in north Cheyenne, especially those with enormous banks of windows on the west and east.

Others may see bastions of success, with their splendid views of the plains and the distant mountains ranges.

"I should start my business - I could call it Free Heat." Krahenbuhl sees waste in these houses. If most of the windows face east and west, it's going to cost a great deal more to heat the home in the winter and cool it in the summer.

In mostly sunny Wyoming, there's a great opportunity to harness the rays and cut usage of fossil fuels, he said. "With all this new construction, we should consider some passive solar features," Krahenbuhl said.

Almost 20 years have passed since he last taught his class on designing passive solar heat systems. And it's highly unlikely he will become a solar heat consultant at this point in his life. But he still thinks it's important for people to consider this when building their new homes.

"Passive solar heat is simple if you follow the basic rules," Krahenbuhl said.

If you do nothing else when designing your house, think south, he said.

Just put most of your windows on the south side of the house, going easy on the other three directions, and you're well on your way to energy savings, he said.

He hasn't built his dream house yet - environmentally friendly straw bale construction, passive solar heating and handicap accessible throughout.

But his split-level home proves what he has learned and taught about solar power.

On sunny winter days, the heat only comes on early in the morning and after dark. Thanks to all of the south-facing windows in the front, the sun does the rest of the work. The low-lying sun penetrates deep into the house, keeping it pleasantly warm.

In the summer months, the home stays cool. The path of the sun swings to the north, and very few rays make it though the windows.

So south is the first and main ingredient to passive solar heat.

The second is glazing - a translucent material such as acrylic or glass to draw in the rays.

Krahenbuhl's house lacks the third ingredient, thermal mass, which is something to store and radiate the heat. One example of this is the water tubes used at the greenhouse at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. But cement that is painted a dark color also is effective, he said.

When in doubt, add more glazing. If it gets too hot, open a window. For mortgage and home resale purposes, install a furnace for backup.

"And if you never have to use it, hallelujah, brother," he said.

If a housing development goes forward on vacant land near Krahenbuhl's house, he hopes to build there. If all goes according to plan, he said, it will be straw-bale construction and handicap accessible.

And, it will definitely be heated by a passive solar heat system.