This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

New Solar House Exhibit at Farnsworth House Through This Summer

The new LUMENHAUS exhibit at Plano's Farnsworth House will be on display at the Farnsworth House from April 1 until at least July 31.

Residents of the Oswego area have the chance this spring and summer to visit one of the most cutting edge examples of an energy efficient home. They just have to make the short drive to 14520 River Road, Plano, and the Farnsworth House.

The Farnsworth House itself, built by famed architect Mies van der Rohe in 1951, ranks as one of the most famous examples of modern residential architecture. The addition of theLUMENHAUS, winner of the most recent International Solar Decathlon, adds a little bonus to the trip.

Students at Virginia Tech University designed LUMENHAUS. This residential structure relies entirely on solar energy to power its appliances, lights and heating and cooling systems. It's energy independent, a home that will never place a burden on the public energy grid.

And the residence actually has strong ties to the Farnsworth House. Virginia Tech students were inspired by van der Rohe's design when they planned LUMENHAUS. This can be seen in the solar home's two full-glass walls and its center core which houses a bathroom. These features are also present in the Farnsworth House.

Justin Lyons, director of marketing and public relations, said that he and his fellow Farnsworth House officials are thrilled to have the LUMENHAUS on campus this spring and summer. 

"Having this exhibit gives our visitors, many of whom are already interested in innovative architecture, a chance to see how well-designed an energy independent house can be," Lyons said. "The LUMENHAUS gives them a model as to how you can accomplish this pretty much perfectly."

The LUMENHAUS is what is known as a net-zero house. It produces more energy than it uses.

The residence's solar panels, which rest on top of the house, pull in energy from sunlight. It then feeds this energy into the public power grid, providing it to public utilities. During the evenings, or during cloudy days in which the sun doesn't make an appearance, the LUMENHAUS pulls energy from the public grid.

The design is a model of efficiency: The house never uses more energy than it produces and provides to the public grid.

"Everything about this house, from the materials used to build it to how it reuses water, is all very top-of-the-line energy efficient," Lyons said.

The home's systems run off an iPad or iPhone. Owners, then, could use their iPad to program the home's washing machine to turn on at 3 a.m. when energy is at its cheapest rates. 

The LUMENHAUS will be on display at the Farnsworth House from April 1 until at least July 31. After this time, the house will continue its visits across the country, giving other visitors the chance to explore its unique design.

Find out what's happening in Oswegowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Visitors to the Farnsworth House can purchase special tickets that provide them with tours of both the Farnsworth House and LUMENHAUS.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?