Stanford Start.Home to transform green home construction

Friday, 05 April, 2013

Stanford University students are building a solar-powered, net-zero emissions house that runs on a standardised platform. According to the students, the Start.Home could transform green home construction.

The house is Stanford’s entry in the Solar Decathlon, a biennial competition run by the US Department of Energy that challenges students to design and build innovative solar houses that will help usher green technology into modern home construction. The 2013 competition will feature solar homes from 20 collegiate teams from four countries.

To help achieve net-zero emissions status, the Start.Home will run on a 7 kW photovoltaic system that will provide an average of 30 kilowatt-hours of energy from the sun daily. Foam insulation sandwiched in the exterior walls will create a tight seal around the house to minimise energy spent on heating and cooling, which will balance out the foam’s negative environmental impacts.

At the heart of the project is the Start.Core, a central unit that contains all the plumbing, utilities and appliances and manages the house’s energy usage. The team believes that a standardised unit like the Start.Core could transform green home construction.

“We want to inspire industry to think about houses that can be built more like cars,” said project manager Derek Ouyang, a double major in civil engineering and architectural design.

The ability to mass-produce basic but critical elements will make it possible to improve quality control and upgrade equipment with new technology as it becomes available, while at the same time allowing customisability. “The Start.Core is like an engine for homes, and you can build any shell you want around it,” he said.

A public housewarming ceremony is scheduled for Earth Day, 22 April, and the team plans to run educational tours during the US summer. Ouyang says these outreach efforts will help people think about improving their day-to-day energy consumption.

“We’re packaging behavioural design into the Start.Core to help people become net-zero as well,” Ouyang said. “The more aware you are of your daily energy usage, the more likely you are to improve your habits.”

The team will practise dismantling and reassembling the house in preparation for the competition, which will be held over 3 to 13 October at Orange County Great Park in California.