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Researchers unveil futuristic 'MEGA houses'

"The cost of MEGA houses can be lowered to compete with that of traditional buildings at NT$60,000 to NT$80,000 per ping."

Cheng Ming-yuan, head of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology's Ecological and Hazard Mitigation Engineering Re

Taiwanese homeowners could soon be living "MEGA-style" in self-powered, environmentally friendly houses, the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology's Ecological and Hazard Mitigation Engineering Research Center said yesterday.

"The term `MEGA house' is an acronym for a building that includes elements of [sustainable] materials, electronic management, green design and construction and management automation," research center chief Cheng Ming-yuan (鄭明淵) said.

Cheng was speaking at a forum on the architectural applications of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology and sustainable development held in Taipei yesterday.

The conference was sponsored by the university and the Ministry of the Interior's Architecture and Building Research Institute to foster discussion on how to integrate modern technology into architecture to promote both convenience and energy conservation.

The ministry had initiated the development of these self-powered houses made of sustainable materials in response to the increasing impact of global warming as well as its push for RFID technology to be applied in various aspects of daily life, Cheng said.

The houses would be built with calcium silicate boards fitted onto a steel frame and a concrete foundation, he said.

The ready-made calcium silicate boards in MEGA houses can be taken apart and would have a reusable lifespan of 20 to 50 years, Cheng said.

Remodeling or a change of floor plan would produce no construction material waste, he said.

In addition, the boards' production process emits relatively little carbon dioxide compared with traditional construction materials, he said.

The boards can also be easily recycled when they reach the end of their lifespan.

MEGA houses will also make use of patented solar cell panels developed by National Taiwan University of Science and Technology professor Young Jin-huai (楊錦懷).

In addition to generating electricity, the panels are self-cleaning and provide shade, Cheng said.

RFID technology also plays a major part in these houses.

"An RFID system contains a reader and a `tag' that are used for automatic identification [of people or objects] using radio waves," Cheng said.

An example of RFID technology is the EasyCard used on Taipei's MRT and buses, said Wang Wen-lin (王文麟), a research assistant at the Ecological and Hazard Mitigation Engineering Research Center.

In MEGA houses, electronic management is made possible with RFID address plates, air conditioning systems and keyless entry facilities, he said.

RFID tags can also be embedded in the silicate calcium boards to help automate the construction process, Wang said.

The cost of building MEGA houses is about NT$120,000 per ping at present, he said.

"But with more mature technology, the cost of MEGA houses can be lowered to compete with that of traditional buildings at NT$60,000 to NT$80,000 per ping," Cheng said.

With a 1:10 scale model already constructed, Cheng said a real-life experimental MEGA house would be completed this year.

"A team of our researchers has volunteered to `test live' in the house," Cheng said.

"If the experimental MEGA house is proven to be capable of providing the economical and environmental benefits we have projected it will, we will speak to constructors about mass production by the end of 2009," he said.
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