Affordable solar homes – a solution for homeowner poverty & net-zero housing!




Net-zero architecture is what will reduce emissions from the construction industry on a large scale. But make it inclusive as well as scalable and you also get a solution that can lift homeowners out of poverty while building a community! Created for that very purpose, these solar homes are aiming to help solve both the global housing and climate crises with one design. The houses produce their energy, harvest 100% of the rainwater, clean their sewage, and also have the potential to grow their own food!

It is called the PowerHYDE housing model and was created by Prasoon Kumar and Robert Verrijt of Billion Bricks from India and Singapore. The model explores sustainable solutions to empower and facilitate growth opportunities for people without homes around Southeast Asia which has a lot of rural and low-income populations. These homes not only provide shelter but are also a power module to scale sustainable communities that lift homeowners out of poverty!




“A BillionBricks Community is the world’s first carbon-negative solar home community to bring families out of poverty within one generation. PowerHYDE homes are plug-and-play modular structures that do not need any connection to services and could be made functional from the day of completion of construction,” says the design team. The cost-effective solution even won a Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction!

affordable-solar-home

The PowerHYDE homes are built via an indigenous prefabricated technique that makes them easy to assemble in remote locations. The home has a solar array installed on the roof and the homeowner can sell excess power generated back to power companies, generating a profit that helps to pay off the cost of the home. Sample homes have been built in Mathjalgaon Village in India and in the Philippines. BillionBricks now plans to build a community of 500 homes near Manila, Philippines that will generate 10 megawatts of power.

Not only does it reduce the emissions from the construction industry (which is the leading contributor in the world for CO2 emissions) but it also helps more people become homeowners while equipping them with means to create renewable energy thus reducing individual carbon footprint as well. It is a radical concept in housing designed for energy sufficiency, extreme affordability, and education for future generations to adapt to a sustainable lifestyle even in rural areas.

Designers: BillionBricks and Architecture BRIO

The post Affordable solar homes – a solution for homeowner poverty & net-zero housing! first appeared on Yanko Design.

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These self-bonding charging cables were designed to NEVER get entangled…

Sometimes I wonder what the world was like in the 1950s when Velcro was first invented. Just the sheer reception to an idea that two surfaces could stick to each other when you wanted them to, and could pull apart when needed. Designed initially to be used on space-suits, Velcro soon became the standard for shoes, especially the ones for kids who didn’t know how to tie shoelaces.

In a lot of ways, the charging cable is the absolute antithesis of the shoelace. Shoelaces need to be tied, while cables often need to be unentangled… and an untied shoelace is equally frustrating as a tangled-up charging cable. The BondCable, in that regard, is the charging cable’s “Velcro moment”. Designed to easily make sure your cables never get entangled again, the BondCable allows your charging cable to retain its carefully-organized coiled design. Designed with a specially extruded cross-section, the BondCable virtually ‘clips’ together to hold its shape when coiled. The cable’s wide design, along with its innovative notch-and-groove cross-section, practically ensures that it never gets entangled or knotted… not only making it less of a hassle on a user-experience level, but also ensuring that your charging cables last dramatically longer by not breaking, fraying, or splitting after months of use.

The universal charging cable comes with Apple’s MFI-certification as well as Android compatibility. Designed across multiple variants with USB-A, USB-C, MicroUSB, and Lightning ports (so you can choose the exact cable you need for your devices), the BondCable supports both power as well as data delivery, with data transfer speeds of up to 480mbps as well as support for fast-charging. Besides, it’s designed to be durable and easy to use too. Winding the cable is as simple as creating a coil and pressing down on it to get the cable’s grooves to interlock into each other to form a nice, cohesive puck that you can easily slip into your pocket or bag and carry around with you to use for years upon years to come!

Designer: CleverThings by Design Insight Singapore

Click Here to Buy Now: 3 for $28 $57 (50% off). Hurry, only 8/600 left!

BondCable – Self-Bonding Charging Cables

A charging cable that bonds onto itself when coiled. Simply coil, squeeze and the cable bonds neatly into a bunch.

Coil. Squeeze. Bond.

Pull to uncoil.

Or throw to uncoil.

Need a shorter cable? No problem.

Why BondCable?

No More Messy Cables – No additional fastener or fancy magnets needed to keep your cables tidy and tangle-free. You can easily manage BondCable neatly on your desk, in your drawer, bag or pocket.

Tired of Replacing Damaged Cables – Charging cables get damaged and replaced more often than they should. They undergo excessive wear-and-tear from being twisted, bent and pulled when we use or store them untidily.

Flexible yet Strong PVC Flat Cable – Messy and entangled cables suffer from extra tension and frictional stresses when they are twisted and pulled at force. A Flat-profile cable minimizes twisting and stress on the cable. With its self-bonding cable management, the BondCable is able to achieve extremely high reliability and durability ratings.

The BondCable is USB-IF compliant with specified test requirements and procedures observed. It has been tested against a series of Weighted Bending Tests (1.1 lb / 500 g, 120° for 10,000 cycles) and Plug-unplug Tests (10,000 times) without any failures.

A Powerful Bond – BondCables are manufactured with the latest charging specifications available for Apple, Android and other devices. This includes the latest certified Apple Lightning C94 USB-C and C48 USB-A, HW SuperCharge (5V 4.5A) and USB-C Fast-Charge (20V 3A).

For Everyone – The BondCable is meant for usage at home, in the office or on-the-go; whether you are an everyday mobile worker, a savvy traveler, or simply someone who likes your stuff neat, uncluttered and organized.

Saves you both time and space.

Click Here to Buy Now: 3 for $28 $57 (50% off). Hurry, only 8/600 left!

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