A talented group of NJIT and Rutgers University students have teamed up to create the eNJoy house, a prototype for a sustainable modular home that expands the possibilities of green building. The group of young architecture, planning and engineering students calls themselves “Team NJ”.

The futuristic, energy efficient, 940 square-foot, one bedroom eNJoy home is the two schools’ submission to the 2011 Solar Decathlon, a solar-housing competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy every two years.

The home’s energy efficient systems are designed to power all its appliances while heating the home in winter and cooling it in summer. Precast insulated concrete panels minimize construction time and maximize thermal properties. The concrete’s thermal inertia allows walls and floors to be passively warmed by the sun during the day and radiate heat into the space throughout the night. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems are consolidated within a central core around which the house is organized.

The house is designed to be disassembled into modules sized for shipping, one of which contains the central core. This modularity cuts manufacturing costs and facilitates easy assembly, delivery and customization.

The roof’s inverted shape, which is intended for a north-facing site, is designed for optimal solar and rainwater collection. The inverted roof’s shape also concentrates sunlight to the home’s roof-mounted solar panel array. Windows featured just below the roof-line soften the structure’s boxy, concrete form, provide natural ambient light and create the appearance of a floating roof.

The house will be unveiled today in at an NJIT parking lot in Newark, N.J., after which it will be disassembled and transported to the National Mall in Washington D.C. where it will be re-assembled and displayed to the public from Sept. 23rd – Oct. 2nd.

additional source: nj.com