USU-sponsored home dedicated Tuesday
Local leaders and dignitaries gathered in Kaysville for the dedication and tour of The Utah House on Tuesday. The house is an earth-friendly demonstration home that saves energy, water and money.
Utah State University President Kermit L. Hall, Lt. Governor Olene Walker and the project’s founder, Leona Hawks, spoke at the dedication.
Hawks explained the purpose of the house.
“It will be a place that the public can learn new ways of building homes and creating landscapes that promote the principles of energy efficiency, water conservation, healthy indoor air and universal design. It will raise awareness and change behaviors and attitudes,” she said.
The house will focus on educating the public and will serve as a resource center. It will be available for tours and special events. The house is sponsored by USU and has a long list of donors and volunteers.
With a garage made out of hay bales, the house derives its energy from solar panels, and water is collected from rain and snow. The house saves 50 percent of the energy house of that size would use.
Hawks came up with the idea in 1996 after attending a USU Extension-sponsored workshop about the successful Florida House. The project has taken a long time to build. Originally bearing the title “The Utah House 2000,” it missed the intended deadline because of a lack in funding. Some people tried to discourage Hawks. The progress was slow-going at times.
“To tell you the truth, I never thought this day would ever come,” Hawks said.
The house was built with the latest in energy-efficient technology. It has four solar panels that provide part of its energy. With the “grid connection” technology, if the house generates more energy than it uses, it will be sold back to the utility company. The Legislature passed a law last year, forcing utility companies to buy back the energy.
Passive solar heating is also used on the house. The heat from the sun enters the windows on the south and is absorbed by the special tiles. The double window panes retain the heat inside the house. Snow melt and rainwater are harvested for flushing toilets and irrigation water.
Hall remarked on the environmental and the educational roles that USU plays.
“Society faces many critical issues, including how to balance growth, economic development and the environment. The Utah House symbolizes Utah State University’s decision to be the leading institution in Utah and the Intermountain West in modeling and developing sustainable strategies that balance these interests one with another,” he said.
He also announced an innovative new program, designed to save energy and water, to be implemented at USU.
The interior design is filled with earth tones. The house looks like any other new house on the same street with perhaps a few minor differences.
Hall said, “The Utah House will become the premiere place in the region that provides education of the preservation and conservation of natural resources.”
–jordan@cc.usu.edu
President Kermit Hall speaks at the dedication of The Utah House on Tuesday. (Photo by Ryan Talbot)
The land around the Utah House awaits landscaping around an arbor and vegetable gardens. (Photo by Ryan Talbot)