Project Partners:
Union County Housing Authority
Project Summary
SmartStart, in Lewisburg, PA, strives to create homes that are as connected as the people who live inside them. Anyone with a cellphone in their pocket can be instantly connected to the rest of the world. Why should your home not have that same capability, both physically and digitally.
These homes are designed to be Net Zero Energy Ready, responding to their environment to maximize both energy efficiency of the house and comfort of the home owners. The houses are also designed for variation; the frame of the house–the exterior envelope, the openings, etc– remain consistent in each house, yet designed so that the interior of each unit can be different– providing anywhere from one to four bedrooms, office space, and additional multipurpose space. This cuts down on construction costs and material waste by replicating the ‘structure’ of the house, while allowing a custom home feel on the interior.
SmartStart also believes it is important that you know how your house performs; why invest money for a high performing house if you cannot verify that it lives up to its standard? For this reason, SmartStart homes are designed to be connected to the appliances, to the energy grid, and to the user. These houses are intended to be fully controlled by the user and monitored by the user.
Related Pages:
Race to Zero/Solar Decathlon Competition
Project Documents:
Project Summary
Project Design Documents
Project Report – Volume 1
Project Report – Volume 2