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[narrator] What looks like a typical college dorm is actually
a living laboratory for students at United Methodist-affiliated
Duke University. Kelvin Gu gives tours.
He says visitors to the 6,000 square foot Duke smart home
come to see the basement.
[Kelvin Gu] and the rainwater filters through the soil
on the green roofs.
And pretty much all year round we can take care of all our
toilet and washer needs with just rainwater.
[narrator] The house has green features you would expect,
like solar electric and water heating and energy efficient construction.
It's also on the cutting edge of new technology.
[Kelvin Gu] The typical light will need a high voltage wire to run to it.
Because LEDs are so efficient, the amount of electricity coming
through a cable that powers your internet is enough to light your house.
We have that capacity here so that when that technology is
mature we can take advantage of it.
Also we have great internet speed.
[narrator] The exposed ductwork and encased wiring systems are
designed to encourage engineering - minded students to tinker.
Experiments range from serious to silly.
[Kelvin Gu] We can get temps up to 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
My roommate over the summer, he wanted to cook Ramen noodles
and he just opened the tap in our bathroom.
I mean it wasn't totally boiled but we basically cooked
Ramen noodles with the water.
[narrator] The house has ten full-time residents but about 50
students and faculty have taken an interest in projects here.
Esther Granville stops by to do some weeding in her smart house garden plot.
[Esther Granville] I am a clinical research dietician at
Duke University and I just come and work in the garden to try to
grow some of my own vegetables.
[narrator] The technology you see here may gradually
be coming to your home.
[Kelvin Gu] People will be installing solar panels
on their houses as a matter of habit.
I think the same way television sets got introduced into
people's homes, there will be new utilities that will be
introduced into people's homes.