Be Smart

That's the headline on this look at the awesome house that New Jersey engineer Mike Strizki hath wrought.

It's not what you thought the future would look like.

Strizki converts sunshine into electricity using photovoltaic panels - and then uses the electricity to wring hydrogen for fuel out of ordinary tap water. The result: For two years Strizki has bought no electricity, no gas, no fuel for his several vehicles. The home-made system cost more than half a million dollars to put together, so his reward is satisfaction rather than savings. But still.

The article, written by David Biello, was just posted on the Scientific American web site. Be sure to check out the accompanying slide show, guaranteed to startle. Whatever its undeniable virtues, this is not the sleek, shapely, clutter-free House of the Future we've all been raised to expect from 21st Century solar and hydrogen power.