Green initiatives and pushes for renewable energy around the country have been spurred by increasing and growing public education campaigns about energy. That’s why PPL Electric Utilities in Pennsylvania donated the E-power House to the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, Pa.

The house is a 15-foot cutaway model home. It’s not a huge piece, but it’s expected to have a huge impact on public opinion about solar energy and energy efficiency measures.

The people who visit the Da Vinci Science Center, primarily families, school groups and tourists from nearby and around the country, will be able to see the difference in each room of the house that a few small changes in our energy routine can make not only on the environment, but also on our pocket books, according to a release about the E-powerhouse.

The E-power House, located on the center's first floor, features a bathroom, bedroom, laundry room, kitchen and living room. Features include rooftop solar panels, examples of attic insulation, a ceiling fan and a computer.

“This mock-up of a house will show people how energy really works,” said Dennis Zehner, spokesman for the Da Vinci Center. “It will show people how they can operate their houses more efficiently.”

The model home features solar panels on the roof and the display indicates how much power the house would be drawing from them if they were functional and the house was situated outdoors, Zehner said.

“Solar is a piece of showing how energy works,” he said. “It’s a piece of how we can build more efficient houses and operate them using less power.”

Just outside of the E-power House, the center posted two children’s bicycles that kids can pedal to power two side-by-side incandescent, compact fluorescent LED light bulbs.

"This partnership with the Da Vinci Science Center is a great way to teach visitors about the value of energy efficiency and give them information they can use in their daily lives," Thomas C. Stathos, director of Customer Programs and Services for PPL Electric Utilities, was quoted in the release. "Most of the center's visitors are children, and this exhibit focuses on them."

The exhibit opens May 1.