CARTERSVILLE, GA (Maia Fox, Staff Writer - Daily Tribune News: Sunday, Dec 21, 2008)
Although
Tellus Science Museum has yet to open, another exhibit has been
added to the collection.
Dec.
15, an 800-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath house that runs on
solar power and has many sustainable design features arrived at the
museum by truck from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
The
Georgia Tech Solar Decathlon House was designed by a team of
students and advisors for the Solar Decathlon 2007 held in
Washington, D.C. As Georgia Tech's first entry into the
international competition, the project placed sixth out of 20
collegiate teams.
When Tellus opens Jan. 12, visitors may
notice the structure outside the museum, but it will not be open for
tours until sometime this spring or summer, according to Jose
Santamaria, executive director of the museum. The house is set to be
stationed at the northwest corner of the museum, near the existing
solar panels.
"After we open, we'll work on outdoor
exhibits and trails outside," Santamaria said.
Due to
delicate equipment and technology inside the house, he said the
exhibit will have guided tours.
"Once we officially open
that exhibit, there will be special tours that we'll schedule to
take people inside," he said.
Some of the sustainable
features of the house include:
* Solar panels that supply
daily energy needs and have the capability to store energy for
future use or sell it to the power company. The house can run for
four days without any energy from the sun.
* Walls made of a
special translucent material that allows natural light to come in
while it insulates the home.
* Energy, plumbing, HVAC and
lighting systems run by six computers in the house. Sensors
connected to the computers monitor weather, solar energy production
and energy use.
* Rainwater and gray water captured and then
stored in a 500-gallon tank. The water can be filtered and sprayed
on to the roof in the summer to cool the solar panels.
The
home's steward is Green Habitats Foundation, a nonprofit foundation
based in Atlanta.
"We chose [to exhibit the house at]
Tellus because it will attract a high number of student visitors.
This will provide an excellent outreach program for Green Habitats
scholarships and for Georgia Tech recruitment," said John
Lie-Nielsen, director of Green Habitats.
He said he hopes the
house will provide inspiration to future green builders, architects
and designers.
"We're seeing some real opportunities for
these young folks [growing] up, to work in these areas and we just
would like for them to learn a little bit about sustainability [and
eco-consciousness at the design and work stages]."
Green
Habitats Media Contact: Angela Braden 310-309-7046
angela@pcpratl.com
