September 30, 2012

French Student Team Rhône-Alpes Wins the 2012 Solar Decathlon Europe With Canopea House!




Big news out of Madrid, Spain: French university Team Rhône-Alpes has won the 2012 European Solar Decathlon with their stunning solar Canopea House! Leading the Solar Decathlon competition since winning the Architecture and Operations prizes, this compact home is topped with a 10,7 kW array of photovoltaic panels that produce enough energy to run all of the electricity on both floors and charge up a mini electric vehicle at the same time! The Canopea house was designed for modularity and was specifically engineered for stacking into 'nanotowers' for higher density housing, addressing the need for sustainable urban housing in the alpine corridor.