A no-fuss solar-powered building

by ZDNet Author | September 21, 2009 4:10am PDT | Image 1 of 9

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The Boston Architecture School and Tufts University are building the Curio House, a home that's designed to run entirely from solar energy. It's the Boston area's entry into the Solar Decathlon, a Department of Energy-run event where student teams from 20 universities compete for the best solar home design. Teams need to take apart and then reassemble their buildings on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., next month where they will be open to the public for 10 days and judged by a panel.

The Boston team has focused its design on affordability, making an 800-square-foot building using almost entirely off-the-shelf products and technologies. It has lined up a buyer for the home in Cape Cod where it is supposed to be the first unit in a green housing development. The projected cost of the building, big enough for two people and a small child, is about $200,000. Students, donors, and school administrators held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the unfinished building on Thursday at Tufts University in Medford, Mass.

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