Prefabricated self-supplier

“North House” is the contribution of three Canadian universities (the University of Waterloo, the Simon Fraser University, and Ryerson University) to the Solar Decathlon 2009 in Washington. The building was designed to suit the climatic conditions in high latitudes and, like all projects submitted to the American students’ competition, was to supply all of its own energy needs. Facades with quadruple glazing and a crypton filling face the south, west and east and maximise the degree of passive solar heat recovery. According to the calculations of the designers, the solar heat yield is greater than the heat losses, even during the heating period.