Imagine a modern home that generates it own electricity and costs around $250,000 to build. Sound impossible? It isn’t. While visiting solar-powered homes at The U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Kathleen Smith '12 noted, “The one thing that surprised me the most was the affordability of these homes. The construction costs of half of the homes were under $300,000. I had always thought that energy efficient products were expensive. This event showed me that going green does not have to be expensive."
On Sunday, October 2, 2011, four Hill students and High Meadows Foundation Chair of Sustainability Marie Fechik-Kirk traveled to Washington, D.C. to witness first-hand the creativity and ingenuity of 10 collegiate teams, all of whom who worked for two years to design and then one week to build the most cost effective and attractive solar home on the National Mall.
Peter Marsh ’15 especially liked team Canada’s entry as “it had a really interesting half-circle design.” While other students preferred the more “traditional looking” home created by Purdue University or Middlebury College’s “barn-like” entry complete with garden space in-side and out. Given this year’s community theme, Emma Woodcock ’12 was excited to see the solar home created by Parsons the New School for Design and Stevens Institute of Technology will become a home for a family through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C.
However, no matter what home they preferred, students enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to learn more about energy efficiency and solar power. For instance, Peter was impressed by The University of Tennessee’s solar array consisting of cylindrical tubes that no matter what time of day it is, generate solar power. Check out
http://www.solardecathlon.gov/index.html for more information.