The NSW government is calling for volunteers to test a technologically advanced home in Sydney’s Newington.

Designed by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer with Ellen Woolley Architects, the “Jetsons”-style pad is replete with green technologies, including rooftop solar panels and a fuel cell that converts natural gas into electricity.

The trial is about taking technology out of the lab and testing them in the real world, minister for Energy, John Robertson, said.

“We are looking for a family with children because we know that kids will use technology different to their parents,” he said.

The residents will be able to control appliances using an iPod, watch an ‘organic’ LED television and drive an electric car.

The family will have to keep a lively blog and their will need “a good sense of humour and plenty of patience” because things will not always work perfectly, Robertson said.

“The project is a bit like The Jetsons meet Big Brother,” he said.

Australia’s first Smart Home will be fitted out over the coming months and is expected to welcome its first tenants in the middle of the year.

The Smart House features remote control of household appliances using an iPhone and a household website, driving and re-charging a plug-in electric car, battery storage technology and micro generation including a “Blue Gen” Ceramic Fuel Cell, a new type of heat-exchange air conditioner and state-of-the-art lighting, water saving appliances and gardens.

The Smart Home is the next stage in the Smart Village project where 1,000 households in Newington and Silverwater can use new technologies to reduce their environmental footprint and household utility bills.

“These trials are all about testing smart grid technologies in real homes using real families to help change the way we use water and energy.”

The Smart Home family featuring a resident writer, would live in a three bedroom home in Newington for 12 months, from June/July 2010. Interested families can go to www.tenderlink.com/energy from today for the

selection criteria. Applications close 22 February 2010.