Maison Reciprocity, or Reciprocity House, is one of the entrants in this year’s Solar Decathlon Europe competition. In a nutshell, it is an energy-efficient, highly sustainable modular home, which aims to set the standard of low cost, and low impact building in the future. It is a joint effort between Appalachian State University and the French Université d’Angers, and one of only two entries into the competition by US teams this year.
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Two years after being proposed US electrical engineer, Scott Brusaw’s system of solar powered roads is in the second prototype stage, which could lead to wide spread use. Scott’s idea is to cover highways and other roadways with photo-voltaic panels that would collect energy and feed it into a decentralized power grid. If successful, these panels could generate enough energy to power the entire country. Scott is currently raising funds via an IndieGoGo campaign to begin production.
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Last week the judges of the 2013 Solar Decathlon announced this year’s winner. The award went to Team Austria’s LISI House, which was a clear leader all along, having already won the Communications, Market Appeal and Energy Balance competitions. With LISI house, Team Austria sought to create a home, which seamlessly combines indoor and outdoor living, and can be built anywhere, be it in the Alpine forests of Austria or the temperate regions of California.
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Team Middlebury is one of the twenty teams chosen to compete in this year’s US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition and their entry is the design and building of a socially and environmentally sustainable house called the InSite house. The team is made up of more than 100 Middlebury College undergraduate students from over 25 different academic disciplines. The finished two bedroom and one bathroom house will measure 956 square feet, while the building costs are $250,000.
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One of the entries to this years Solar Decathlon competition is the so-called FluxHome project, envisioned and designed by a team of University of Southern California students. Their 1,000-square-foot solar-powered entry will be controlled by a single iPad. This ability to control all the complicated automation systems of this sustainable home offers the team an edge in the competition. FluxHome also uses the advantage of ample sunlight of the Southern California region to improve the indoor quality of life in this home.
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The Missouri University of Science and Technology entry in the U.S. Solar Decathlon 2013 competition, which takes place in Irvine, California on October 3-13, 2013, is Chameleon House, so named for its ability to adapt to the environment and transform according to the needs of its residents.
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