A Solar-Powered House Rises at the U. of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati has done a lot of building in recent years, but a project taking shape at one end of a main campus quadrangle this summer is unusual in lots of ways: A team of students is constructing an 800-square-foot house that will be powered entirely by the sun.

The house will feature sloping roof planes — one of them covered in photovoltaic panels — as well as clerestory windows and a south-facing wall of blue glass tubes that use the sun’s warmth to make hot water. A high-tech system will produce both heat and air conditioning directly from the hot water.

But the house won’t be staying on the campus. In early October its four sections will be unbolted, mounted on wheels, and towed to the National Mall in Washington, where the house will compete against 19 other student-built houses in the U.S. Department of Energy’s third Solar Decathlon. Read the full Chronicle article, and watch an audio slide show to see additional drawings and photos.