C2C House by Mithun: Powered by Spinach!

When we interviewed the C2C Home Competition organizers, we didn’t tell you about the coolest feature of Mithun’s winning house: it’s powered by spinach. An exciting prospect for both treehuggers and bald sailors (you didn’t think we’d get through a post about spinach without reference to Popeye, did you?), spinach proteins are sandwiched in glass, using chlorophyll to turn sunlight into power for the house. Years ago, this was as thrilling a prospect to my biology teacher as cold fusion was to the chemistry teacher next door. Now, the idea has helped win a contest for houses that can be built right now. It does seem cool beyond belief, but we’d love to know how it stacks up against more conventional photovoltaics in terms of cost, output, reliability, and that sort of thing. Via Gristmill ::C2C Home Competition [by KK]