Natural Fusion 1
Natural Fusion is Penn State's entry in the 2009 Solar Decathlon, to be held in October on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The home is nearing completion at its construction site at the southwest end of Innovation Boulevard in Innovation Park, and the team, led by Penn State students from a wide variety of majors, welcomed visitors to the house Friday (Sept. 25) for an open day of tours. After its completion, Natural Fusion will be moved to the National Mall in October to compete against 19 teams from other colleges and universities to be named the top solar powered home. The team has designed and constructed the house to be fully functional with innovative and unique technology and features, and could be lived in once completed. For a full story on Natural Fusion, visit live.psu.edu/story/41735.
Natural Fusion 2
Gretchen Miller, communications project manager for the Penn State Solar Decathlon team, discusses the features of Natural Fusion's great room to visitors Friday (Sept. 25) afternoon. Large windows on each side of the home create a natural north-south flow and integration of construction and nature. The team welcomed actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. to town Friday, and Begley was scheduled to give a free public lecture at Dean's Hall of the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, just up the road from the Natural Fusion site.
Natural Fusion 3
The great room of the Natural Fusion home includes furniture hand-built by Penn State students and, like the rest of the house, flooring made from reclaimed wood from an old Pennsylvania barn.
Natural Fusion 4
The kitchen of the solar-powered home features many energy-efficient amenities, including an induction stovetop, which heats pots and pans without making the surface area of the range hot. It also features a combination washer dryer that can do both functions -- put your clothes in to wash before heading to work, and they will be dry by the time you get home.
Natural Fusion 5
Natural Fusion team leader Kyle Macht tells visitors about the "Life Well" on the kitchen wall. Plants are grown on the wall, including herbs like chives and basil, making for easy natural cooking, an indoor garden, and a bridge between the outdoor and indoor environments.
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Partitions in the bathroom come from 3Form, which designed the material to be "cradle-to-cradle," meaning it can be used in perpetuity and never end up in a landfill.
Natural Fusion 7
In the spacious bedroom, a bed frame of natural wood is made entirely from one piece. In addition to the reclaimed barn wood used for flooring, slate on the floor comes from old chalkboards once used in Penn State engineering classrooms.
Natural Fusion 8
The vertical dark panels are the flat panel collector that powers the Natural Fusion's solar thermal system for hot water. The system, developed by Sunnovations, requires no controls or pumps and is maintenance free. It relies on physics to distribute the hot water through the house.
Natural Fusion 9
The north facade of the Natural Fusion home continues the Life Well concept in the kitchen. Plants grow from the green roof, down through the exterior of the house, merging nature and man-made construction. Vegetable plants growing on this side of the house can be picked and taken directly into the kitchen for cooking.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
