Students competing in a recent U.S. Department of Energy competition are designing energy efficient homes intended for real-world use, and leading the way to a sustainable building future. And in the case of this year’s winner, the home can also stand up to hurricane winds.
A team from New Jersey’s Stevens Institute of Technology won the recent 2015 Energy Department Solar Decathlon, according to a Vox story. Their Sustainable Resilience or SURE House won top honors among the twenty student teams participating in this year’s contest.
In addition to energy use, homes are judged on several categories including architecture, engineering, market appeal and six other criteria around feasibility, comfort and attractiveness.
Given the team’s memories of Hurricane Sandy ravaging shoreline homes, the New Jersey students designed their model with severe storms in mind. The home is elevated to withstand five feet of flooding, and the bottom floor is completely sealed and waterproof.
For energy efficiency, the house is super-insulated with materials that resist mold in humidity, and meets passive house standards, with fresh air entering via an energy recovery device that reduces the need to heat or cool the interior.
Since the house uses 90 percent less energy than a typical New Jersey home today, it can be powered completely by rooftop solar panels. The 1,000 square foot home features two bedrooms, one bathroom and additional large outdoor living spaces.