Solar

By Bill Kaczor - Associated Press October 1, 2009

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The elevated floor, tall ceilings, steeply pitched roof and broad overhangs are borrowed from the traditional "cracker house" that relied on shade and air movement for relief from Florida's sultry subtropical climate.

A pair of magnolia trees, dark red siding, ceiling fans, bamboo flooring and rustic wooden beams salvaged from a Georgia barn add to the inviting atmosphere of the little house in the middle of Florida State University's brick-and-mortar campus.

It may look like an out-of-place throwback, but the $575,000 Off-Grid, Zero Emissions Building — OGZEB — has a futuristic purpose. Its mission is to test potential solutions to the world's energy and climate change problems by combining old tricks with cutting-edge technology, including a unique solar-hydrogen experiment.

"What we're trying to do is create the building of tomorrow with a lot of the feel of today," said project manager Justin Kramer. "If nobody wanted to live in it, what's the point?"

Like a 19th century cracker house, there are no power lines.