Duke, Home Depot partner on 'Smarthome'

Wednesday October 25, 11:39 am ET

The Home Depot Inc. and Duke University are teaming up to create a combination residence hall and undergraduate laboratory where students will research and develop a variety of new technologies for the home.


The facility will serve as a technology prototype assembly and testing center where students -- including the 10 dorm residents, more than 100 student members of the Duke Smart House Club and entire engineering classes -- can test new home technology ideas developed by Duke students. The occupants will live with and in the design ideas of the larger group to provide feedback on issues such as technology usability and adoption, energy efficiency and automated control.

Atlanta-based Home Depot (NYSE: HD - News) will sponsor "The Home Depot Smarthome" with $2 million over a three-year period to cover the cost of construction. The 6,000-square-foot home is expected to be finished by fall 2007. Raleigh-based Bovis Lend Lease is the contractor for the project.

"Our objectives are threefold: to create a home environment that incorporates innovative solutions that simplify life, to better understand the technology behind these solutions and ultimately to bring this technology to the consumer market," said Craig Menear, senior vice president of merchandising at Home Depot.

Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering has been working toward construction of the smart home since 2003. The project began as an idea by Mark Younger, who was an electrical engineering student at the time. Upon graduation, Younger was hired as the project director and has since guided it through the early stages of development. Since 2003, more than 225 Duke students have worked on smart home technology and sustainable building projects, many of which contributed to the design of the facility.

Published October 25, 2006 by the Triangle Business Journal