World's first solar-heated home
In 1948, the Dover Sun House, in the US, was the first home to be heated by solar power
Witness History · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
In December 1948, a family of Hungarian refugees moved into the world's first home to be heated entirely by solar power.
What made the Dover Sun House, in Massachusetts, United States, even more special was that it had been created by three women at a time when men dominated the fields of science and engineering.
Heiress Amelia Peabody funded it, architect Eleanor Raymond designed it and biophysicist Maria Telkes created the heating system. Andrew Nemethy, who grew up in the house, tells Vicky Farncombe how it felt to live in an "elongated cheese wedge".
This programme has been updated since its original broadcast. It was edited on 6 December 2023.
(Photo: The Dover Sun House. Credit: Getty Images)