Daily Magazine

The Start.Home is the Stanford University entry in the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

 

Integrating technology into a home that can grow as needs change, the Start.Home design allows for customization and additions that are based on a pre-engineered, pre-fabricated start.core that can meet net-zero energy efficiency standards.

The Stanford design team aims to provide “efficiency without sacrificing creativity” such that each house can be an expression of its owner. The 12’x15’x10’ start.core features natural lighting, open spaces, a high roof that permits passive ventilation, and an emphasis on connecting the interior to the outdoors. The basic unit provides for a bathroom, kitchen, mechanical component access, and living areas. The start.core can be shipped on a standard truck trailer and installed on a lot for construction and customization.

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Via Lauren Moss

The Solar Decathlon China 2013 is a competition that challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are Net Zero, affordable, energy-efficient and attractive.

Summer 2013 will be the first year that a team from Israel will participate in the competition, and their design incorporates passive design features, creating an improved thermal envelope to maintain a comfortable interior environment. Windows, walls, and floors collect, store, and distribute solar energy as heat in the winter and reject heat in the summer...

Since 2002, the Solar Decathlon has involved over 90 teams and influenced thousands of collegiate participants in interdisciplinary research, design and construction of energy-efficient, solar-powered houses.

Via Lauren Moss