Jackson Energy Authority Creates a “Smart House”

Jackson Energy Authority is transforming a historic home in Jackson into a home of the future.

JEA has bought the former Tisdal home at Highland and Parkway and is renovating it into a showcase for energy efficiency and modern technology.

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Tisdal Place, as the project is called, should be finished by late October, in time to be part of this fall’s HomeFest 2002.

Plans are to completely renovate the home, and to totally upgrade the interior so that it becomes a highly energy efficient, high-tech home. The “smart house” will have such things as computer-controlled lighting and appliances. For example, the home's owner will be able to change the thermostat and possibly operate other appliances from his computer at work.

The project is under the direction of Joe Exum, JEA's former manager, who has worked with the American Public Power Association and built a similar home in Georgia.

On the committee with Exum are Bruce Dorris, Lara Coleman, Susan Cook, Monte Cooper, Angus Willis, Tommy Nanney and Danny Wheeler. John Allen Construction Co. is the general contractor.

“Our goal is to renovate an older home rather than make a smart house out of a newer home and so we can attract people who can see what they can do in their own homes,” Dorris said.

The Tisdal home is part of the Highlands, a unique residential development in midtown Jackson. The Highlands, with its first homes under construction, is a gated, garden-style community with zero lot lines, tree-lined streets, landscaped park areas, and service alleys for trash pickup, mail delivery and garage access.

The land is owned by the Highland Avenue Neighborhood Association, a group of neighbors who banded together so they could protect their own homes as they determined how the land would be developed.

The fall home show will be in the Highlands, making Tisdal Place an added attraction.

Tisdal Place will be open for tours during HomeFest and probably for another six months after that before it is sold as a residence, Dorris says. “It’s a perfect project for Jackson Energy Authority. We’re excited about showing the community what a ‘smart house’ can offer.”

For more information, contact Bruce Dorris at 731-422-7294.

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