On April 10, 2021, City staff attended the grand opening of ADAPTHAUS, located at 1202 N. Walnut. ADAPTHAUS was created by the Illinois Solar Decathlon student team for the US Department of Energy’s 2020 Solar Decathlon, which is a competition that challenges students to design and construct high-functioning, low carbon homes. ADAPTHAUS is a modular home that can be added on and expanded while still being sustainable. The home is considered net-zero, meaning that it only produces as much energy as it needs. Features include solar panels and an app that can control appliances and possible monitoring of CO2 emission levels.
The winning homes are those that best blend design, architectural and engineering innovation with market potential, efficiency and clean energy production. The competition was supposed to be held in June 2020 in Washington, D.C., but was delayed and moved to a virtual platform due to COVID-19. The competition will take place over the next few weeks.
At the open house, tours were provided and students explained the design’s technology, philosophy and logistics. This lot was formerly owned by the City and donated to the University of Illinois through the City’s property disposition process. Upon completion of the competition, the Illinois Solar Decathlon student team will donate the house to Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County, who has the goal of selling the home to a low-income qualified homebuyer.
To learn more about the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon and ADAPTHAUS, visit this link.