Students to present innovative design for completely self-sustained housing unit at prestigious Solar Decathlon expo in China

Alphi Shauli
Published: 03.09.13
[see YNET site for pictures]
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4352760,00.html

Students at Israel’s Shenkar College of Engineering and Design will present an innovating design for an energy-saving home in the upcoming Solar Decathlon – an international sustainable architecture competition.

A joint initiative of the US Department of Energy and its European counterpart, the first Solar Decathlon was held in 2002. The competition has since occurred biennially in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011. The 2013 Solar Decathlon will be held in China in August.

The students will present their plans and model of a one-level, 70 sq.m home with a 100 sq.m yard, which is self-sustainable.

The Israeli team is led by Shenkar, and includes student from Tel Aviv University, the Department of the Design at the Collage of Management and the Neri Bloomfield School of Design and Education in the Wizo Academy in Haifa.

A model of the house in currently being built in Haifa, where it will be on display throughout the coming Passover holiday. It will then be taken apart, shipped to China and reassembled for the competition.

The frame of the house is factory-made, meaning its assembly and disassembly will not cause any debris. Its walls and ceiling will feature state-of-the-art isolation materials and its roof will house 54 sq.m of solar panels and receptors, meant to provide all of the structure’s energy needs.

The air conditioning system planned for the building will be based on thermo-solar technology. The water system will feature a purification and reclamation system.

“The construction market is considered a conservative one and as such it still uses some outdated technologies. We need the students to introduce new things,” Dr. Yossi Kori of Shenkar told Ynet.

The project, estimated at $250,000 was funded by the Environmental Protection Ministry, Shenkar, TAU, Wizo and the Energy and Water Ministry, as well as by several construction and technology companies.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4352760,00.html