MetalTech-USA Fabricates Cladding for Appalachian State University’s Solar Homestead

Oct. 3, 2011 - PRLog -- Appalachian State University has secured the “People’s Choice Award” for the 2011 Solar Decathlon, a green building competition hosted annually by the U.S. Department of Energy.   The team received notification over the weekend.

A total of 92,538 votes were cast online for the “People’s Choice Award” competition.  The eco-friendly Solar Homestead structure was chosen as the favorite among 18 other entries.  The concept of the net-zero energy home was inspired by earlier settlers in the Appalachian region.

The 1,000-square-foot home contains two bedrooms, one bath area, a kitchen, a living room, and additional living space.  For the aluminum cladding, 800 square feet of aluminum sheeting with a thickness of .04” was fabricated.  For additional customization, the aluminum paneling was corrugated and perforated with staggered spacing.  “We needed to make sure that the perforations produced complemented the desired thickness of the corrugated sinusoidal profile,” explained MetalTech-USA Project Manager Patrick Wheble.

In addition to winning the “People’s Choice Award,” Appalachian State University also placed second in communications and third in the architecture portions of the competition.  Over 100 students worked on the Solar Homestead sustainable building project for the Solar Decathlon.

# # #

MetalTech-USA distributes and fabricates coil, sheet and architectural metal products to contractors and architects. Complete environmentally-friendly roofing, façade and rainwater systems are available in copper, zinc, stainless steel, and more.