Virginia Tech and Solar Houses

As a Park Ranger for Arlington on a temporary assignment with the AIRE team, I have been exploring the in and outs of AIRE during my first week here.  In these explorations, I have read about climate change, reducing emissions, sustainability and renewable energy just to name a few.  The thing which fascinates me the most is converting sunlight into electricity.  Maybe it’s because we are in the midst of summer or that I am a sun worshipper and not a fan of the cold.  I’d like to think that one day the use of solar energy technology will be available to people of all walks of life.

  

While thinking about solar energy I get an email from my alumni association at Virginia Tech, low and behold it has a link about VT and sustainable living.  This leads me to check out VT’s website for the sustainability article.  Now where is she going you ask?  In just one click and a scroll of the mouse I hit upon an article about a new solar powered home designed by my fellow Hokies for the 2009 U.S. DOE Solar Decathlon.  The contest is held during October right on the Mall in D.C.  This is a zero energy house that’s high tech and very space agey; you can even control it from your iPhone.   I think it is worth checking out to see what future generations are doing around the world.  Good luck Hokies. You can check out the article at WAVY-TV 10  about Virginia Tech’s solar house or view the interactive house at the LUMENHAUS website. But wait there’s more in the near future you will be able to recharge your iPhone or Blackberry using solar power without added bulk.  Check it out at Motion Touch.