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Troy's celebrated solar house left in dark

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posted on May, 15 2009 @ 01:02 PM
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Nearly a million dollars for something that looks like an outhouse and occupies a whopping 800 square feet of space.

And it is unsafe to enter because the floors were damaged by frozen pipes that burst.

No gas or electric to power or heat the place - it was relying on solar and wind power to do that.

Back to the drawing boards, methinks.
Off the grid and onto the skids.


www.detnews.com...

Troy -- It was supposed to be a shining example of the green movement -- a completely independent solar-powered house with no gas or electrical hookups.

Seven months ago, officials gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the $900,000 house owned by the city of Troy that was to be used as an educational tool and meeting spot.

But it never opened to the public. And it remains closed.




posted on May, 15 2009 @ 01:23 PM
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reply to post by jsobecky
 


This is insane. Florida State is building something similar and acting as if it is cutting edge.

Where are these people getting their 'technology' from?! There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands of homes and buildings surviving off grid already. I am about $13,000 away from being entirely off-grid myself. Working with 10-yr old technology and spending no more than a normal utility bill, anyone can build something like this.

You would think these city engineers would find some functional examples before blowing almost a million dollars!



posted on May, 15 2009 @ 01:32 PM
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reply to post by getreadyalready
 


That's not how "city" engineers operate.


There are completely off-grid homes all over the country that operate perfectly fine even in harsh Winters.

If it's being done by a city, state or federal unit it's going to to cost way too much and fail miserably. If some family decided to go ahead and do this out of necessity or personal desire it would be done as cheaply as possible and function reliably long after the family died off.

Such is the way of government.

I guess the best case scenario is that government will blow excessive sums of extorted funds on these things helping push the cost down quicker than naturally for the consumer. Once that happens and the typical American is on-board government will attempt to recoup the wasted funds by taxing the new broader consumer base.

I think the mayor of that city should be forced to live in the solar shanty.



posted on May, 15 2009 @ 01:43 PM
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Just fyi, it seems like a local college built and paid for the house:


Lawrence Technological University, with help from DTE, mostly paid for the building. Its students built the 800-square-foot home, which was supposed to be livable year-round, free from the grid and churn out enough solar power to support a home-based business and electric vehicle.


I don't know who/what DTE is though.



posted on May, 15 2009 @ 01:48 PM
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Originally posted by jsobecky
Just fyi, it seems like a local college built and paid for the house:


Lawrence Technological University, with help from DTE, mostly paid for the building. Its students built the 800-square-foot home, which was supposed to be livable year-round, free from the grid and churn out enough solar power to support a home-based business and electric vehicle.


I don't know who/what DTE is though.


I wish Lawrence Tech and DTE would give me about 25% of that grant and I will build them a house twice that size, start a new home-based business converting other homes, and drive their silly electric car with all their signs on it!

Of course they have to get the permitting palms greased, because the main problem would be getting permits for a well and a septic inside city limits, and the electric company would probably charge us to come remove their stuff!



posted on May, 15 2009 @ 01:57 PM
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Oh how this story brings memories of "Biosphere 2". If only the designers and architects would actually consult and listen to the builders. Hey, looks great on paper though!!!

en.wikipedia.org...



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