Hey, they're stealing our idea!: SMM's Science House produces as much energy as it consumes. Now some folks in Tennessee are trying to mass-market the idea. Good for them!

Out back, along the river, the Science Museum operates Science House, a zero-emissions building that is designed to generate as much energy as it uses. (You can read a discussion of Science House on the Buzz site here.

The idea seems to be catching on. A consortium of community groups in Tennessee is offering plans for building homes designed to have energy costs of less than $1 a day. The homes cost less than $100,000 to build, use proven technology (heat pumps, solar cells, insulation), and use less than 20% the energy of an average home in the area.