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Small house designs with big impact

Tag Archives: Solar Decathlon Europe 2012


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Solar Decathlon Europe: PRISPA

Romania’s entry into Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 is called PRISPA (“porch”). The PRISPA team took a keep-it-simple approach to the design of the house, forgoing a lot of the cutting-edge technology favored by the other teams. Instead they adapted tried-and-true materials and systems, using them in innovative ways. As a result, PRISPA was the least-expensive house to build at SDE 2012, and is probably one of the most viable for production. Nevertheless, it still meets the goal of producing more energy than it consumes.

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Solar Decathlon Europe: Ekihouse

photo by Jesús Martín Ruiz | UPV/EHU eki project

Continuing our coverage of Solar Decathlon Europe 2012, today we take a look at Ekihouse (“sun house”), a small prefabricated house in two modules. Ekihouse is the result of a collaboration between two Basque schools, Universidad del País Vasco and Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea. It has a simple floor plan with the kitchen and utilities at one end, the bathroom at the other, and an open loft-like living space in the middle. The living area is enclosed by triple-paned sliding patio doors on the two remaining sides.

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Solar Decathlon Europe: The Odoo House

© Solar Decathlon Europe

Solar Decathlon Europe 2012

Solar Decathlon Europe 2012 is now in full swing in Madrid, Spain. Solar Decathlon Europe is an offshoot of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon held every second year in Washington, D.C. Interest in the U.S. competition had grown to the point that a European version was started in 2010. The U.S. competition invites international entrants but the cost of travel and shipping a house overseas was prohibitive for many potential teams. A European version allows participation by many more teams.

In the Solar Decathlons, university teams compete in the design, construction and operation of small energy-efficient houses powered by the sun’s energy. The Solar Decathlon Europe’s teams are judged in these ten contests: architecture, engineering and construction, energy efficiency, electrical energy balance, comfort, function, communication / raising social awareness, industrialization / market viability, innovation, and sustainability.

We will be having a look at several of this year’s Solar Decathlon Europe entries. First up is the Odoo House by team Odooproject from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary.

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