This is a picture of the Smart Home located at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I was lucky enough to have the chance to tour the home when I went to Chicago in November with a class.
Pretty much everything about the house is green, which is amazing. The home wasn't built like most homes today, it was manufactured in modules at an off-site location. Everything the house is made of is sustainable; including its bamboo floors, Forest Stewardship Council certified wood and recycled glass tiles. The energy efficiency of this place is insane! There are solar panels on the roof and a wind turbine that produces most of the energy the house needs. Other things that contribute to the energy efficiency of the home are its huge windows, sliding doors and sunshades that help with heating an cooling. All of the appliances in the home are Energy Star certified which also helps save energy. Even the toilets in this house are green, the water used in the toilets is from either rainwater or water waste from the washing machine and shower.
The house has so many green components it is almost impossible to name all of them, and frankly, most of us wouldn't understand them anyways. There are however a few things I remember from the tour that I thought were especially cool. Throughout the house there are pieces of furniture that were made from a giant bur oak that fell during a severe storm. Another awesome thing I saw was the counter top in the kitchen made from recycled glass oven doors, who knew you could turn old oven doors into a counter top! But that wasn't the only cool thing about the counter top, there is a certain spot on it that will power small appliances like a blender just by sitting it there, no plug-in needed! Below are a few pictures from inside the smart home...
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