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Water damage keeps solar house closed


Published: May 15, 2009 at 1:19 PM
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TROY, Mich., May 15 (UPI) -- A $900,000 solar-powered house designed for the city of Troy, Mich., has never opened because of water damage caused by frozen pipes, an official said.

Carol Anderson, director of Troy's Parks and Recreation Department, said tours of the house can't begin until the damaged floors have been repaired, The Detroit News reported Friday.

"It's not safe right now, and there's no estimated opening time because it depends on when we can get funding," Anderson said.

The 800-square-foot house was built by students from Lawrence Technological University. It had no gas or electrical hookups and was supposed to be livable year-round.

"The system was designed to kick a heater on to keep water from freezing," said Jeff Biegler, parks superintendent. "The heater drew all reserve power out of the battery, causing the system to back down."

Joe Veryser, an associate dean of architecture at the university said, he heard somebody turned the system off and forgot to turn it back on.

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