WASHINGTON — About 30 students from three Washington, D.C., universities have teamed up to construct a solar-powered home for an injured military serviceman.
Dubbed the “Harvest Home,” the completed structure will also be entered in the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, an international competition between collegiate teams to design the best solar-powered house.
The team behind it, Team Capitol D.C., will be the first team to ever represent the nation’s capital in the contest. The builders include students from American University, George Washington University and Catholic University.
The students are building the house completely out of recycled material, including lumber leftover from other construction sites. The finished product will also feature solar panels to power the heating and electricity as well as LED lights and natural ventilation.
The team wants to make the house as accessible as possible for people with disabilities. They plan to give the house to a wounded warrior after the contest is over. The team has not yet identified who that recipient would be, but several students said they want to be sure they produce the best possible home for a deserving veteran.
“Coming back from a war zone is pretty traumatic and I think it’ll make that transition easier going from such a horrible place to hopefully something that is beautiful,” Catholic University student Lauren MacGregor said.
After construction wraps up in May, the students will take apart the finished house and transport it to Irvine, California for the competition in October.