Location

The PNC SmartHome Cleveland is a three-bedroom house built on the grounds of The Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It's designed to meet the Passive House standard, the world's most rigorous standard for building energy performance. It's expected to be the first Passive House in Northeast Ohio.

Green building features include:

• Innovative wall system with insulated panels to achieve R-50 insulation.
• Extremely well sealed building envelope to prevent air leakage and drafts.
• German triple-pane windows that achieve R-11 in the middle of the glass.
• Energy-recovery ventilation (ERV) system.
• Ductless air-source heat pump for supplementary heating and cooling (the home does not have a furnace).
• Design for passive solar heat gain.
• Energy Star appliances and LED lighting.
• Environmentally friendly furnishings and artwork.
• Oak flooring reclaimed from a deconstructed house.
• Landscaping for stormwater management.
• Pole-mounted solar array with manual tracking system developed in Cleveland for use in the developing world.

The SmartHome will be open for tours from early June through September, 2011. Then it will be moved to a nearby vacant lot, installed on a permanent foundation, and sold.

The Museum will also be hosting a major traveling exhibit on Climate Change from July 23 through December 31, 2011. Thus, Solar Tour visitors to the SmartHome will also be able to see the climate exhibit.