RICHBURG --
You might say the winds of change are about to blow in Chester County.
By the end of the year, the county will be home to a unique research center designed to help construction industry leaders make homes and other structures better able to withstand natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes.
With the ability to create hurricane-force winds inside a mammoth, six-story concrete testing chamber off S.C. 99, those behind the Disaster Research Center hope to influence how buildings are constructed to protect those who live and work inside - and reduce the costs of weather-related catastrophes.
On Friday, officials with the Institute for Business & Home Safety gave a tour of the still-under-construction $40 million center, which is paid for exclusively by the insurance industry and should be fully operational in the fall.
"We are putting Mother Nature in a big box," said Julie Rochman, president and CEO of the institute. "This is nothing short of incredible."
The only one of its kind in the world, the research center will be able to subject a full-sized 2,000-plus-square-foot home or small commercial building to simulated hazards including Category 3 hurricanes, wind-blown fire and hailstorms.
Damage caused during these and other natural disasters can be lessened, Rochman said, and the research center should show how.
"We can do better," she said, "and this lab is going to help us do better."
How will it work?
Crews will build homes and other small buildings on site and move them into the main, 21,000-square-foot testing center, where weather situations will be simulated. Video cameras mounted in various places around the building will capture all angles of the assault and crews will watch and learn from behind protective glass.
More than 100 fans - each about 6 feet in diameter - will generate enough energy collectively to power 9,000 homes and push 24 million cubic feet of wind per minute through the test chamber - 20 times the flow of water going over Niagara Falls.
Rochman expects the center to be fully operational sometime in the fall. Crews will spend a few months fine-tuning the equipment before starting official experiments.
How will it help homeowners?
It may take 20 to 30 years to gauge the full impact of the center's findings on the building industry, Rochman said, but she sees a few potential benefits to homeowners.
For one, she expects the data will lead to improved building codes for new construction, which would mean safer homes. Also, researchers expect to find ways to help owners of existing homes take steps to make their homes safer or more environmentally friendly.
Finally, Rochman envisions tax incentives for consumers who take advantage of recommendations.
But it's not just people who live in hurricane-prone areas along the coast or in places with lots of tornadoes. Even those whose homes are often subjected to strong thunderstorms can benefit, Rochman said.
"Wind is wind," she said.
Will neighbors notice when these tests are going on?
Probably not. The nearest house is about a half-mile away. Though the tests will be loud at the site, Rochman said initial research shows the process will produce a sound only as loud as a dishwasher for those who live closest to the site.
But even that would only be audible outdoors. Homeowners shouldn't be able to hear anything inside their homes, she said. Testing times will be published in local newspapers and will only occur during normal business hours.
"We're going to be very cautious so that everybody knows what we're doing and when we're doing it," Rochman said. "We want to be good neighbors."
What's the benefit to the community?
Apart from the information gained from the research, the IBHS is using only local workers during construction and plans to do that again when expansion is warranted. Around 100 construction workers are at the site during at any given time.
The center will employ 20 people when operational. Because the center is for research, it will be tax-exempt. But county leaders expect the benefit to come from spin-off industry and the boost the center will give Chester County's image around the country, said County Supervisor Carlisle Roddey.
"It's a great thing for us," he said. "We've got something that's the only one in the world."
