The Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK) at the University of Stuttgart has unveiled a new concept home that not only generates power for itself, but can also help the homeowner charge his/her EV with homemade electricity.
The project not only illustrates the feasibility of building future single-family homes which generate a significant surplus of energy – enough to power the electric vehicles of their occupants – but also demonstrates how future buildings can be designed and built to allow for complete disassembly and recycling at the end of their life cycle. The holistic planning approach employed by the interdisciplinary design team takes the scope of “sustainable design” to a new level, incorporating energy and material concepts which surpass the standards set by previous milestone projects such as the SolarDecathlon competition.
The concept home aims to generate enough energy for shelter and transportation. The Plus-Energy House with Electromobility’s design is a response to the issue of matching solar power produced and power consumed. The super efficient home features smart controls that divert energy to electric vehicles in the garage or send it back into the grid to feed other local buildings. A large open front of the home displays the concept prominently, with a large space dedicated for transportation. Tucked behind the carport is a transition space with displays and a two-story living space.
Another intriguing aspect to the home is how ILEK, headed by Werner Sobek, has been able to apply their insights into an efficient, highly-developed lightweight construction design that is a snap to set up and then deconstruct. The home has no permanent foundation, so can be placed in many locations with minimal disturbance, and disassembled again to form raw materials for a new building.
