the roofpod is designed to use underutilized rooftops, places where the sun exposure is greatest, to harness the vast potential of space and energy together.

unique features of the solar roofpod are:
1).smart engineering systems that allow a relatively high percentage of glazing in the curtain wall cladding of the building envelope,
2. a rooftop-mounted solar trellis that shades and protects the building from heat gain from the photovoltaic panels,
3. a solar trellis that is easy to upgrade with new pv technologies as they become available,
4. a modular dwelling unit design with components that can easily be arranged in multiple high-performance configurations,
5. a water use indicator to assist inhabitants in monitoring their daily water consumption,
6. the highly efficient and unique solar thermal storage system (described below),
7. the symbiotic relationship with the host building below, and
8. the potential to be installed on hundreds of thousands of rooftops around the world. in this last regard, roofpod installation can be considered a land conservation infrastructure; each new unit added to already developed land equals one fewer newly-developed greenfield parcel.

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click here to view the previous idea submission from new york’s solar decathlon team. for access to the entire archive of new york solar decathlon 2011 videos: visit the member page