Cleveland To Get Solar-Only Powered Home

[irishbobcat]

Cleveland to get furnace-free home heated by sun

CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cleveland Museum of Natural History plans to build the first house in the lakeside city to be heated using special windows, insulation and sunlight instead of a furnace or gas line.

The Plain Dealer newspaper reports the traditional-looking "SmartHome Cleveland" will be built on museum grounds this summer and accompany an exhibit about climate change.

The project is called a "passive house," designed to keep itself heated using sunlight. It also will have two small heating units that distribute warm air.

An architect with the firm that planned the home says it's designed to use 90 percent less energy than a typical house in the area.

It's expected to cost $525,000, but officials plan to sell the three-bedroom home for $300,000 to $400,000.