The Solar Decathlon is an International competition for universities to design and build Europe’s most effective and energy efficient house. Each entry will be judged on 10 separate environmental areas, from solar systems and sustainability to market viability and architectural merit – giving the competition its title, Solar Decathlon.

There are no short-cuts: each team must build and test a full scale house before transporting it to Madrid to be reassembled for the final, which is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors. The students will also have to live in the house to demonstrate its effectiveness and energy efficiency.

In conjunction with Saint-Gobain, the students at Nottingham University have created a home that will meet both Code Level 6 of the code for sustainable homes and Passive House standards – an industry first for the UK. The house has been constructed entirely from materials supplied or approved by Saint-Gobain’s UK companies, which have joined forces to provide products and technical expertise; working with the students to optimise energy efficiency and create a home that is both eco-friendly and affordable.

A key objective for the students was to ensure that the Nottingham H.O.U.S.E will comply with the UK’s code for sustainable homes (carbon neutral for new build by 2016). The final design is versatile enough to work as a semi-detached house, terraced or even stacked as apartments – a highly marketable starter home - a major requirement in the UK. The Nottingham H.O.U.S.E was showcased at this year’s Ecobuild exhibition. In the next few weeks it will be packed up and transported to the competition site in Madrid.