(AP) -- Researchers hope a new wind facility will help them develop building techniques and products that will make homes safer in a hurricane.
To do that, they plan to blow down a lot of houses starting Tuesday at the Institute for Business and Home Safety's $40 million Insurance Center for Building Safety in Chester County, about halfway between Columbia and Charlotte, N.C.
Two 1,300-square-foot houses will be tested side by side as 105 fans create 110 mph wind gusts - about the same as a Category 3 hurricane.
The houses will have the same design but use different materials and building techniques. The idea is to learn which construction materials and methods hold up best to minimize damage in hurricane-prone areas.
The facility is funded by property and casualty insurers.
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