Hailed as a completely self-sustaining building, the solar house at the Troy Community Center in Troy, Michigan was set to open for tours and community use this Summer. Unfortunately, the systems failed to work over the winter, pipes froze, and water burst through the uninhabited structure causing the floors to collapse. As a result, the building sits unused after the hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted on it by government.
This is government waste and folly at it worst, but it is typical of the best government can do. Oh, it’s not the best because anything worked, it’s the best because failure is all one can expect from government when undertaking projects of this nature.
The model house was supposed to be an engineering marvel that would save the planet. But ended up being just a monstrous waste of the taxpayer’s money.
In April of last year, the news was all of the excitement.
A team of more than 40 Lawrence Tech students called ALOeTERRA (which means “to nourish the earth”) designed and built the house last year. Volunteers from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millrights also lent a hand creating a home that harnesses the sunlight into enough electricity to power the home’s utilities (along with some left over for a small electric vehicle).
But only a year later, it was all about the disappointment and finger pointing.
It was supposed to be a shining example of the green movement — a completely independent solar-powered house with no gas or electrical hookups.
Seven months ago, officials gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the $900,000 house owned by the city of Troy that was to be used as an educational tool and meeting spot.
But it never opened to the public. And it remains closed.
Oh, there are all sorts of reasons why this engineering marvel was an utter failure. There is finger pointing and head scratching all around. But the singular fact of the matter is that this project is a failure because it was not undertaken by business in a situation where success meant fulfilling a business plan to satisfy investors in order to obtain profit.
No, it was a dalliance by professors financed by government without any expectations or requirements for success. Further, everyone involved knew that any loss would be absorbed by the tax payers and would result in no consequences of blame for failure. No one had any reason to be precise. No one had any pressure to succeed.
So, once again We The People get fleeced by university professors and fraudulent government spending.
But, heck. They meant well, right? That is the salve for all wounds, after all.
Steve Maley
Moe Lane
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
I'm sure there was pressure to succeed...
fmaidment (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 6:32AM EST (link)…but no incentives if they did, and no one to answer to when the money was wasted.
I’m sure someone’s career will be over due to this, but no one responsible. Someone will get blamed, but not the right person. They may take some of the contractors to court, but they’ll just say, “We were building an experimental building, we built it to contract specifications. Suck an egg.”
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“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.”
– - Thomas Jefferson, to Archibald Stuart, 1791
We are talking
Warner Todd Huston (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 6:50AM EST (link)We are talking government AND university here. NO ONE will lose a job or find any repercussions whatsoever! Of that you can be sure.
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No doubt they'll issue more taxpayers grants to the same people
bk (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 7:00AM EST (link)to work on fixing what they screwed up the first time.
Exactly
Warner Todd Huston (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 7:15AM EST (link)And then they will hail it all as a great success even though it will probably cost double or triple what it should have.
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My favorite part of this story:
evanm (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 7:38AM EST (link)The “glitch in the heater” was that a pipe getting cold doesn’t make the sun shine.
The real “glitch” was in the concept: in southeast Michigan, the sun only really shines three days out of the year.
Therin lies the problem
DerKrieger (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 7:58AM EST (link)“the sun only really shines three days out of the year.”
That is why wind and solar are doomed to boutique and fad energy sources.
Radical environmentalists are a scourge to our economy and ultimately our freedoms. I think the GOP needs to find a way to take them on without getting accused of being anti-environment. We’re all for a clean planet, we just don’t want to live in tiny houses and drive clown cars.
I wish environmentalists would find God and convert from earth worship to Christianity. It would save us all a lot of money and headaches.
“In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” – Thomas Jefferson
“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” – James Madison
Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” — John Locke, 1690
Yes, small "glitch"
smitty Wednesday, May 20th at 10:26AM EST (link)I love this. Its like the “small glitch” I have that keeps me from being an NBA starl; I’m a foot too short and I can’t jump. Other than that I am a star in waiting.
Yes, small "glitch"
smitty Wednesday, May 20th at 10:28AM EST (link)I love this. Its like the “small glitch” I have that keeps me from being an NBA star; I’m a foot too short and I can’t jump. Other than that I am a star in waiting.
Let's be Clear: Conservatives are Not Affraid of Failure
quill67 (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 8:09AM EST (link)“Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” — Thomas Edison
Just because something fails does not mean it was not worth trying. Liberals will point to a single (or series) of failed missile defense test as a reason to kill the program, however, what they miss is that we learn from our mistakes and from the effort of the undertaking. Liberals are afraid of failing. For example, this is why they push for not keeping score in our kids’ athletics because they believe that our kids would be harmed by failing when in fact is our failures make us stronger.
The same could be said for this house. Just because this house failed does not mean trying to create energy efficient homes is not a goal worth undertaking.
So let’s be clear: The reason we as conservative oppose the house is not that it failed, but that it was never designed to succeed. A home that tested new technologies that failed would be disappointing but part of the process of discovering what will work. This home appears not to be a testing ground for new home technologies, but rather, a public relations instrument to make people believe green technology is ready when obviously more research needs to be done.
I readthat Ben Franklin wrote...
larryp Wednesday, May 20th at 10:43AM EST (link)In the mid-1700s that houses and farms should be sited to take advantage of the sun.That was over 300 yrs ago. Builders and gotvts ignorred it. Eco-nerd stuff only works if there is power to wield over us peasants.The eco-dwarfs don’t give a rip about tthe environment. Might say they do. but want the power
The Worst?
ignatov Wednesday, May 20th at 10:53AM EST (link)This is government waste and folly at it worst
Really? A failed house is the worst? I would have said the Iraq war. But, heck. They meant well, right?
“All generalizations are false, including this one.” – Mark Twain
So, ignatov, do you hate Iraqis because they're *Muslim*...
Moe Lane (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 11:08AM EST (link)…because they’re not *European*, or just because they had the bad taste to be rescued by a Republican President?
Next post, and don’t insult my intelligence by pretending that one of the three don’t apply in your case. Just be grateful that we’ve gotten out of the habit of assigning remedial reading for our more ignorant drive-bys: if ever there was a man who cried out for a 1,500 word essay on the aftermath of the Spanish-American War it’s you.
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I always liked the essay assignments
Finrod (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 12:27PM EST (link)Did anyone ever actually complete any of them? I’m just curious, they might make amusing reading if anyone actually ever did one.
Let’s get down to brass tacks here. How much for the ape?
What Government Money?
jimmyg Wednesday, May 20th at 11:58AM EST (link)Lawrence Technical University is a private university. The house was built for a competition involving 20 engineering universities. I went to the Lawrence Technichal University web site http://solar.ltu.edu/ and found that the house was financed by a Carpenters Union, construction suppliers, and private individuals. After the competition it was purchased by the local chamber of commerce and given to the city.I think your point was that this was a waste of goverment funding, I could not find any mention in this article as to what government agency was funding this school project. Is there a unit of government that funded this project that you are aware of?
Even more priceless....Union Built
rcov092 (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 8:24PM EST (link)n/t
“Not One Red Dime for the NRSC or NRCC till they stop trying to elect liberals”
Join the RedState Strike Force
actually...
Warner Todd Huston (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 9:13PM EST (link)jimmyg,
Well, it is funded by the government. A federal grant of $350,000 has been awarded to Troy to set this house up. So, yes, it is being funded by government. Not only that, but the upkeep and operation of the tours is on the city of Troy, so there is more government funds involved.
But, even worse, this house cost $900,000 to create. It’s an 800 square foot home. That is about the size of a mobile home, fer cripes sake! Can you imagine if this wondrous technology was in every house forcing homeowners to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a mobile home sized space?
Then it falls apart during the winter?
The whole thing is a debacle.
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Lawrence Technical University Replied to your
jimmyg Wednesday, May 20th at 10:28PM EST (link)report earlier today on your other blog.I found it trying to find the $350,000.00 grant you wrote about.
One Response to “Green Follies: Gov’t Built Solar House Falls Apart”
Bruce Annett on May 20th, 2009 11:33 am You have been misinformed. Recently the solar house that was designed and constructed by Lawrence Technological University students has been the subject of negative publicity because some pipes burst over the winter. Some have been quick to claim that this problem proves that solar energy can’t be relied on during Michigan winters.
First, one major correction is needed. The house was designed to be built for $250,000, as required by the rules of the Solar Decathlon competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. It did not cost $900,000 as reported by the media. The higher figure, funded largely by private individuals and corporate donors, not government, includes all the expenses over a two-year period involved in preparing for and participating in the international competition held in Washington, D.C., in 2007, including transporting the house and erecting and dismantling it at each site.
The Solar Decathlon house was turned over to the city of Troy in October 2008. It was open for public tours at that time, and plans were made to use the house as a teaching center for alternative energy in 2009. The house also has many features that reduce energy consumption.
Adjustments were needed in the hot water heating system, and as a consequence the battery-based electrical system was turned off and inadvertently left off. Due to Christmas vacation schedules, this error was not detected until after the pipes froze, causing considerable damage to a section of flooring.
Lawrence Tech will continue to work closely with Troy city officials to restore the Solar Decathlon house so that it can be used for its original purpose of demonstrating the potential of solar energy and serving as a laboratory that will provide valuable data about using solar power in Michigan. We expect to learn a lot more about how the mechanical systems function during the changing seasons and make adjustments that will further the understanding of this important alternative source of energy.
As any homeowner knows, the possibility of frozen pipes is always present when a house is unoccupied. We are confident that any problems with the heating system and its monitoring will be resolved by next winter.
Bruce Annett
Lawrence Technological University
These are college students in a competition. It appears that no goverment funds were used according to the good professor. This is what college kids in engineering programs do. They test theorys taught in the classroom and compete with other colleges.
Do you have a link for the $350,000.00 federal grant?
And he
Warner Todd Huston (Diary) Thursday, May 21st at 1:12AM EST (link)And he is not telling the truth. Yes they built it that way in the beginning for the competition. Since then, however, it has been federally funded and funded by the city.
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Govt. Funding
jimmyg Thursday, May 21st at 6:09AM EST (link)WTH
Reading your article I got the impression that this house was built for $900,000,00. Having a boy in engineering school this article caught my interest. As it turns out, and as you admit, it was not built for $900,000.00.
You have changed this story in the comments to say that it is funded by the city. It is now funded by the city because it was given to them by the Troy Chamber of Commerce and they are responsible for maintenance of properties they own.
As to the federal grant, as I asked before, do you have a link. I looked and could not find a federal grant associated with this project. The link I provided to Lawrence Technical University tells a great story about the project, down to spreadsheets as to cost of the home.
As to you calling the professor out for not telling the truth, what part of his response is not truthful?
No Time to Respond WTH
jimmyg Thursday, May 21st at 9:37PM EST (link)I have respectfully told you what I have found through google searches. and gave you every opportunity to back off this story. You have failed to respond and at the same time besmirshed the reputation of a private university and stated that a professor who wrote a response to your story lied, without specifically stating what he lied about. A simple google search would have brought you to the Lawrence Technical University web site where you could have sorted the truth from fantasy. If I were you I would be careful who you call out for not telling the truth, especially private citizens. Those type of statements tend to bite you in the rear and take innocent people with you.
No Time to Respond WTH
jimmyg Thursday, May 21st at 9:37PM EST (link)I have respectfully told you what I have found through google searches. and gave you every opportunity to back off this story. You have failed to respond and at the same time besmirshed the reputation of a private university and stated that a professor who wrote a response to your story lied, without specifically stating what he lied about. A simple google search would have brought you to the Lawrence Technical University web site where you could have sorted the truth from fantasy. If I were you I would be careful who you call out for not telling the truth, especially private citizens. Those type of statements tend to bite you in the rear and take innocent people with you.
Look it up
Warner Todd Huston (Diary) Friday, May 22nd at 3:03AM EST (link)A simple google search will discover that a $350,000 federal grant was gotten for this waste of money. Try actually bothering to do some work to prove your point, pal.
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Hey pal, hard to prove a negative.
jimmyg Friday, May 22nd at 1:56PM EST (link)This isn’t the first time you’ve been caught. It won’t be the last.
please...
Warner Todd Huston (Diary) Saturday, May 23rd at 5:00AM EST (link)Do the Google search. Look for yourself. You are able, right? You don’t need an adult to hold you hand, do you?
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monstrous waste of the taxpayer’s money
izoneguy (Diary) Wednesday, May 20th at 12:49PM EST (link)Most of the government can be covered with this one partial sentence.
Just wait until Obama gets cap & trade passed.
Next up – The Oil companies.
Obama will make Hugos oil grab look like a tea party.
Get ready for $10 a gallon gas – most of which will go to the government.
The point cannot be made often enough: Modern liberalism, as embodied in the Obama presidency, is the defender of the status quo. And the status quo is a road to economic ruin. Political forces cannot redistribute the wealth that the economic system does not produce.
How about the new Obamacar built by General Chrysler
davo119 Wednesday, May 20th at 8:01PM EST (link)Guaranteed for 90 days or until you get it off the lot.
Never give in! Never! Never! Never!