Monday, September 02, 2013: Students from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) and Rachna Sansad Academy of Architecture, Mumbai are putting in their efforts to create a solar-powered house. The team has a total strength of 70 students. They are in the process of creating such a house as part of a global participation. The competition is slated for June 2014 in France and the project will provide an entry in the US department of energy’s Solar Decathlon.
As per the rules of the competition, teams are supposed to design a solar-powered, which is to be built in home university and then that has to be re-erected within ten days once it has been disassembled and transported to the competition site. The name of the team is Shunya.
The team had sent the proposal in the month of October 2012. It was selected from more than 40 entries. Minimum 19 other entries have been shortlisted. The unique selling point of the Rs 20 million (Rs 2 crore) project is that it is Indian, affordable and sustainable.
The estimated price of the 700 sq ft house is Rs 3.5 million (Rs 35 lakh). Designed for a family of six, it has a kitchen, a bedroom, multipurpose space which can be converted into two bedrooms, when needed, two toilets, one of these is handicapped-friendly. Moreover, it will be constructed utilizing recyclable material.
