Solar Homestead built by Appalachian State Team for the Solar Decathlon

The Solar Homestead, a net-zero energy home designed by students and professors at Appalachian State University in Boone NC,  is about to go retail for consumers.  Asheville-based Deltec Homes, leading builder of round, high-wind resistant homes, will manufacture and market the house – and  pay royalties to Appalachian State to support the university’s  department of technology and environmental design for future sustainable design-build projects and research activities.

Solar Homestead was one of the 20 academic teams that designed and built solar-powered houses in competition for the 2011 US Solar Decathlon in Washington DC. The team won the People’s Choice contest based on receiving the most votes by the public for its design and features. Deltec was a major supporter of the Appalachian State team in the Decathlon.

Originally built in modules, the prototype house has been adapted using a panelized building system that will be constructed at Deltec’s facility, then shipped to the job site for assembly.

Interior has about 850 square feet of living and storage space

The modified design maintains the homestead’s grand porch and can be configured for two bedrooms and one bath, or enlarged through outbuilding modules that can serve as additional bedrooms, office or living space. The design also has options that can be added by the purchaser, such as additional solar panels, and a solar hot water kit and fresh air exchange system. Read the Chronicle of Philanthropy article.

Appalachian State was recently ranked as one of the Top 10 greenest colleges and universities in the US in the Sierra Club’s sixth annual survey that ranks campuses based on energy efficiency, food production, waste, purchasing, transportation, and academics. (See the Green News Update article)