North Carolina Solar Center

Michael Vick and I (Courtney Thompson) visited the North Carolina Solar Center. The Solar House in NCSU campus is of the most visited and visible solar houses in the United States. It was built in the fall of 1981. The NCSU Solar House is on Gorman Street, right behind the McKimmon Center. As might be the same for many other NC State students, the solar house went completely unnoticed by Michael and me until we discovered it for this project. According to The Enterprise 9/4/1984 article the NCSU solar house was the idea of mechanical and aerospace engineers, Albert S Boyers and Herbert Meckerlin. These project directors along with a Raleigh architect, Bruce Johnson, built and designed the 2020 square foot home. The house is two stories and has three bedrooms, two baths, a living and dining room, kitchen, den, utility room, sun space, and balcony. There is 1834 square feet in living space and 320 square feet in sunspace and balcony. The interiors were designed by Wilma Hammott, who wanted to inside to resemble a normal home. The solar house was built to serve three purposes. The first purpose is to demonstrate how solar and energy-efficient technologies can be effectively used in a traditional designed home in this area. The second purpose is to serve as an educational resource for students and the community and the third purpose is to serve as a research lab for graduate students in engineering, interior design, and other studies. Some key features of the home include a sunspace that collects, stores, and distributes solar heat for space heating, solartubes that provide natural lighting, alternative fuels 2-car garage, and an active solar hot water system that heats domestic hot water. The landscaping is built in a way to reduce the home’s energy requirements during each season. Michael and I found the house extremely interesting and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in conserving energy. The staff is willing to help with any questions you may have. The hours are Monday-Friday, 9am-1pm,2pm-5pm and admission is free!