SmartHome summary handout - GreenCityBlueLake

THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
TRANSFORM
PNC SmartHome
In 2011, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History
developed the PNC SmartHome, the energy-efficient
house of the future. The challenge was to build a house
designed to stay warm through a Cleveland winter
without a conventional furnace. It was built in two
months, opened to the public as part of a nationally
touring Climate Change exhibit, and then moved to a
permanent location near the museum and sold.
As a result, thousands of people got a handson
demonstration of cutting-edge green building
Goals of the SmartHome
• Give thousands of people hands-on experience
with attractive techniques of green building
• Build local capacity for better building design
standards in Cleveland
• Support efforts of community development
organizations to help residents save energy
• Broaden awareness of climate change impacts
from buildings
• Build a practical house that would be an asset
for a Cleveland neighborhood
techniques in a house that dramatically reduces carbon
emissions.
For the energy performance goal, the 2,800 square-foot
SmartHome was designed to achieve Passive House
certification, the world’s most rigorous building energy
standard. Because of their very low energy demand,
passive houses are a major step toward building
SmartHome was a symbol of how a museum of
natural history can be a center for innovative
thinking about science and sustainability.
carbon-neutral communities.

What is a Passive House
The SmartHome followed these design principles which are
common in energy-efficient passive houses:
Thick walls of insulation and air-tight construction
greatly reduce energy demand of the SmartHome.
• Heat-retaining building shape: A simple, rectangular
shape minimizes the ratio of surface area to volume.
• Super insulation: Walls are more than a foot thick, and
packed with insulation to achieve R-50.
• High-performance windows: Triple-pane windows
achieve R-11, and close like a bank vault to stop drafts.
• Air-tight construction: All holes and seams in the building
perimeter were carefully sealed to achieve 0.6 air
changes per hour when measured by a blower door test.
• Thermal-bridge free construction: Design and insulation
eliminated heat conduction through the walls.
• Heat-recovery ventilation: The system for bringing
in fresh air warms incoming cold air with the heat of
exhaust air.
• Efficient HVAC: SmartHome is designed to maintain
temperatures like a Thermos. Heating demand is so low
that, instead of a furnace, a small, ductless air-source
heat pump provides supplementary heating and cooling.
• Passive solar and shading: Designed for a south-facing
lot to allow sunlight to enter and warm the house during
winter, but shaded during the summer.
• EnergyStar appliances and high efficiency LED lighting.
The results
Triple-pane windows are just starting to catch on
in the U.S. but are a mainstay in Europe where
passive houses number in the tens of thousands.
More information
David Beach, director of the GreenCityBlueLake
Institute, managed the project for the museum.
For more details, see:
www.gcbl.org/projects/pnc-smarthome
© 2012 The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
• The project involved more than 100 partners including
contractors, suppliers, neighborhood groups, the city of
Cleveland, local artists and real estate professionals.
• The SmartHome design-build team conducted technical
workshops for local builders, architects, city officials and
home building industry professionals.
• City residents were invited to free tours and workshops
on home energy savings.
• CMNH staff worked with Enterprise Community Partners
on a tour and discussion with Cleveland neighborhood
groups about energy efficiency and affordable housing.
• Inspired by SmartHome, other building projects in
Northeast Ohio are now using passive design principles.
• The SmartHome generated national media attention.
• As an exhibit, the SmartHome was a hit. Nearly 10,000
museum visitors went on guided tours.
• And it is a permanent investment in Cleveland.
Green City Blue Lake INSTITUTE
1 Wade Oval Dr.
Cleveland, OH 44106
216 231 4600
www.gcbl.org