Sustainable Building: Win Up to $5M in Greener House Contest

DaVinci Quest, a Colorado-based, for-profit company that seeks to address the world’s top ten problems, has announced an international competition designed to find a practical, affordable approach to greening lower-priced homes.  The contest will focus on innovative technologies that can make a house smarter, safer, and greener on a budget.

The Smarter, Safer, Greener House Contest is being hosted in the city of Longmont, Colorado.  The criterion for winning the contest requires a team to renovate an existing house in Longmont by designing an integrated system using available technology.  A total of 50 teams is being sought to compete for a minimum cash prize of $500,000 up to $5 million.

The contest is the brainchild of Karl Dakin , entrepreneur and CEO of DaVinci Quest.  “The single greatest benefit among homeowners is to look at what can be done to green up their home on a budget,” said Dakin.  The competition has currently drawn 33 homeowners and two teams, and DaVinci Quest is actively recruiting more teams.

Teams may be comprised of individuals or organizations that specialize in green or smart buildings, general contractors who focus on green buildings and intelligent building upgrades, businesses that manufacture products used in energy or water conservation, energy production and storage, or home communication systems; and students, civic groups, or other organizations with an interest in energy conservation.

Each team must pay an entry fee of $25,000, and participating homeowners will be responsible for the direct costs of the renovations up to $15,000, but will also receive a $5,000 participation fee.

To win the overall $5 million DaVinci World Prize, a team must reduce energy consumption of the home with which it is are matched to less than 137 kilowatts of energy a month per person, produce energy in the home in an amount more than 2,200 kilowatts of energy a month, store energy in the home in an amount up to 2,200 kilowatts for a month-long period, reduce water consumption in the home to less than 1,000 gallons a month per person; and reduce non-recycled waste in the home to less than 30 pounds a month per person.

DaVinci Quest plans to recruit businesses to act a team sponsors and will match each team with a sponsor.  Team sponsors must pay $50,000 and promote the contest.  The City of Longmont will work with each team to review and approve renovation plans and serve as the base of development in the establishment of a green building industry.  The competition is open to teams and sponsors from around the world.

The winner of the Smarter, Safer, Greener House Contest will be announced in Longmont in October 2010.

Article by Julie Mitchell, appearing courtesy of Celsias