Every two years, U.S. Department of Energy sponsors the Solar Decathlon. Twenty teams from across the globe are selected to design and build houses completely powered by the sun. This year, a group of students from Rice University will be competing as the only team from Texas.
The team has been working on their zero energy row house, aptly named the ZeRow House, since last fall. But even with just 520 square feet, this little house packs quite a punch.
Designed and built by the Rice Building Workshop, the house is equipped with such features as a solar hot water heater, dimmable L.E.D. lighting, and energy star appliances.
"We've had a number of people from the Architecture and Engineering industry come to the house and just really express to us just how much they've enjoyed the house," says graduate architecture student Rebecca Sibley.
In September, the house will be moved to the National Mall in Washington to be part of the Solar Village. There they will compete in 10 categories including architecture, engineering, and even home entertainment.
But what really sets the ZeRow House apart is its future beyond the competition. The house will be brought back to Houston's Project Row Houses in the Third Ward to become a home for one lucky family.
"Everything that we have done for the house has been for bringing it back to Houston and giving it to a family, so making the house very livable has been great."
From bamboo flooring to a large outdoor deck, this house is full of perks, but most important of all, freedom from utility bills.
With a market value of 150,000 dollars, the ZeRow house is above all accessible.
"I think a lot of the problems that other teams run into is that they end up designing homes that cost 500 thousand dollars, a million dollars, and so what we did with our design is sort of a critique of that. We really wanted to make solar energy affordable and approachable."
For more information visit the team's web page at www.ricesolardecathlon.org.
The team has been working on their zero energy row house, aptly named the ZeRow House, since last fall. But even with just 520 square feet, this little house packs quite a punch.
Designed and built by the Rice Building Workshop, the house is equipped with such features as a solar hot water heater, dimmable L.E.D. lighting, and energy star appliances.
"We've had a number of people from the Architecture and Engineering industry come to the house and just really express to us just how much they've enjoyed the house," says graduate architecture student Rebecca Sibley.
In September, the house will be moved to the National Mall in Washington to be part of the Solar Village. There they will compete in 10 categories including architecture, engineering, and even home entertainment.
But what really sets the ZeRow House apart is its future beyond the competition. The house will be brought back to Houston's Project Row Houses in the Third Ward to become a home for one lucky family.
"Everything that we have done for the house has been for bringing it back to Houston and giving it to a family, so making the house very livable has been great."
From bamboo flooring to a large outdoor deck, this house is full of perks, but most important of all, freedom from utility bills.
With a market value of 150,000 dollars, the ZeRow house is above all accessible.
"I think a lot of the problems that other teams run into is that they end up designing homes that cost 500 thousand dollars, a million dollars, and so what we did with our design is sort of a critique of that. We really wanted to make solar energy affordable and approachable."
For more information visit the team's web page at www.ricesolardecathlon.org.
