(Chicago, IL)  The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry will build a functioning, three-story modular and sustainable "green" home to showcase the ways that people can make eco-friendly living a part of their lives.

     The home will be the basis for the exhibit Smart Home: Green + Wired, Powered by ComEd and Warmed by Peoples Gas, which opens May 8, 2008.

     This marks the first time that a museum has built a fully functioning exhibit home of this kind on its grounds.

     The exhibit will offer guests guided tours of the 2,500 square-foot home and grounds, located in a park on the east side of the Museum. Within the home, guests will be able to view the latest innovations in reusable resources, smart energy consumption, and clean-living environments in a contemporary setting.

     With the help of Wired magazine, "smart" technologies will be incorporated throughout the home, including a full-home automation system that allows homeowners to control heat, window coverings, lighting, security sensors and cameras.

     A touch screen will track electricity and water consumption in the home on a real-time basis. The technologies will demonstrate how a home can inspire lifestyle choices and be equipped to save resources while residents are away, as well as keep a home and its occupants protected.

      The modular home is being constructed in Decatur, IN (All American Homes). The module construction takes place on an assembly line and lasts approximately three weeks. In a precision-engineered and climate-controlled environment, the home can be built 60 percent faster and in a more environmentally-friendly way than traditional site-built construction.

     The interior architecture, which is sophisticated and family-friendly, will demonstrate the use of natural light, open spaces, energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, and energy-efficient building components to maximize a healthy-living environment.

     The materials chosen - from the windows to the fixtures to the counters and floors - will highlight sustainable
 engineering and eco-friendly design. You can see how stormwater runoff can be collected for landscape irrigation; how toilets can be equipped to use waste water from the shower and bath; how spray-in foam insulation can create a completely sealed building, resulting in better air quality, a quieter home and greater energy efficiency; and how recycled bottles and fly ash can create beautiful bathroom countertops.

On the web: http://www.msichicago.org/


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