For the past three semesters about 100 Cal Poly Pomona students have been putting in extra hours to design an energy- and water-efficient, market-ready family home ahead of the inaugural Orange County Sustainability Decathlon.

The OCSD, a state funded, international juried competition, challenged 10 colleges worldwide to build solar powered homes to display at the Orange County Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa for the competition from October 5-15. Cal Poly Pomona’s “Roots House” was named and designed through a concept of roots communities, multigenerational neighborhoods where young families and seniors live alongside each other.

The 1,008 square-foot two-bedroom, one-bath home is meant to be affordable for all working ages and features passive cooling, natural ventilation and lighting, a white cool roof with a high solar reflectance index, energy efficient appliances, a mini split system to reduce energy costs, solar panels and battery, an electric vehicle charger, a greywater system, rain barrels, and low-flow water conservation fixtures. The CPP team aims to bring the house to market in five to 10 years for use as an accessory dwelling unit.

The model and final structure of the home are the culmination of work by students across nine majors: civil, chemical, environmental, mechanical, electrical and computer engineering; architecture; regenerative studies; and business administration. Funding for the project was made possible thanks to donations by nearly 50 sponsors.

Learn more at rootshouse.org.