Competition and Public Exhibit Have Begun

The Solar Decathlon 2011 had its opening ceremony yesterday, and the Solar Homestead is so excited to have its first judged contests. To keep up with the competition standings go to Solar Decathlon’s website www.solardecathlon.gov.

The affordability contest is a brand new contest to the Solar Decathlon this year. The contest challenges the teams to build a solar powered house that costs somewhere between $250,000- $600,000, with points given out on a sliding scale. This is a great way to measure how residential construction can be zero energy as well as affordable. This is to display how solar technologies can be marketable to the average homeowner and display innovative ideas that can be integrated into the architecture.

The Solar Homestead has created OMs, or Out-building Modules that supply all of the electrical energy that is needed by the home. This feature allows anyone to add PV panels to an existing structure while also providing an outdoor covered space and detached conditioned space.

Our house is affordably marketed to a couple with moderate salaries in the Asheville, North Carolina region. We chose Asheville as our target market because the sustainability movement is well established and our model home fits into the growing trend of green neighborhoods in the region.  

Keep looking for continuous updates all this week on this blog. Also visit our social media sites to stay updated -

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