Earlier this year, students from Weber State University’s Department of Construction & Building Sciences participated in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Build Challenge along with student teams from colleges around the nation, and world.
The Weber State team, consisting of seniors and juniors in both the Bachelor of Integrated Studies program and the interior design department, had a goal to create a sustainable, environmentally-friendly home that would be viable for anyone to build. The home was built with a tight envelope and includes an efficient ERV as well as a mini-split system that will allow the inhabitants of the home to control temperatures in each room.
Photo courtesy Weber State University
"Our goal going into this was to prove that this is marketable, that this is repeatable," says faculty lead Jeremy Farner (via KSL.com). "That's really what we're trying to do, is educate the public that this is possible. It doesn't cost too much money, and anybody could make this happen in their home."
Weber State University partnered with Ogden City to place the 2,500 sq. ft. house on a vacant lot at 2807 Quincy Ave. in the East Central neighborhood. The 6-bedroom, 2 bathroom home is listed at $345,000 and the future owner will be determined by an application and random drawing process similar to how Sweden’s BoKlok runs their housing lottery. Applications are due by October 1, 2020 and the drawing will happen on October 9.
This summer, the Solar Decathlon Build challenge teams were set to showcase their projects on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. - that is, until COVID-19 changed everything. The team will instead travel to Denver in April of 2021 for the competition with other teams from around the world.
Proceeds from the sale of the home will be used by Weber State to finance additional sustainable projects.