The E-House, an energy efficiency showcase that has long been a fixture in the lobby of Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s Customer Service Center, recently got a makeover.

The model home, upgraded with the help of donations from SMUD’s partners in the construction and appliance industries, features structural cutaways that allow visitors to see into the guts of framing and roofing assemblies, insulation systems, window and lighting installations, and HVAC and renewable-energy systems.

It obviously isn’t a candidate for field testing, but E-House can be a convenient teaching tool for contractors, designers, and consumers, bringing together in one structure a lot of the demonstration props one might find at a homebuilding trade show. SMUD’s Energy & Technology Center, the utility’s energy-efficiency marketing arm, uses E-House as the setting for workshops focused on energy efficient products and remodeling and construction services available to its residential customers in the greater Sacramento area.

Lobby hours at the Customer Service Center, 6301 S Street, are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.