The
solcomhouse (solar computer house) uses the 'whole buildings' approach to design
and construction. Whole buildings are energy efficient, deploy appropriate
mechanical equipment for comfort and indoor air quality, feature optimized site
design, are illuminated by day lighting and save energy and reduce environmental
impact.
The
solcomhouse addresses five key issues:
-
promoting
affordability in housing for seniors and lower income brackets
-
increasing
occupant health productivity, and comfort
-
reducing
pollution and slowing Global Warming
-
alleviating
the strain on the utility infrastructure
-
conserving
conventional fuel supplies and natural resources
Demographics
In the past five years there have
been revolutionary additions to the Internet, Social Networks and Youtube.
Social Networks are this generations digital equivalent of hanging out at the
mall. A social networking site is an online place where a user can create a
profile and build a personal network that connects him or her to other users. In
the past five years, such sites have rocketed from a niche activity into a
phenomenon that engages tens of millions of Internet users. More than half (55%)
of all online American youths ages 12-17 use online social networking sites,
according to a new national survey of teenagers conducted by the Pew Internet
& American Life Project.
YouTube is a video sharing
website where users can upload, view and share video clips. YouTube was created
in mid February 2005. Google purchased YouTube in November 2006. Social
Networking and Youtube are the perfect vehicles to use as a catalyst to enable
students and the general public to use the Internet more for educational
purposes. It is easy to find music, comedy, and current event videos on these
sites. Searching the Internet for video content from educators, scientists and
researchers returns limited results. Adding video and presentations from these
sources would be a great resource for students, educators, scientists and the
general public.
What we are going to do in this
project is to leverage and merge our currently successful websites with the
impact, scope and popularity of Social Networking and Youtube.
Currently our websites are being
used as an educational tool worldwide by the general public, students,
educators, scientists and researchers. Last year 2.3 million people visited the
sites- People from all 50 states and 197 countries. Thousands of websites around
the world have links to our websites. Here is a small sampling of the websites
that have links to our websites -
§ NASA
§ PBS Nova
§ The United Nations
§ American Natural History
Museum
§ University Of California
§ Saint Georges College
U.K.
§ The United States Army
Environmental Policy Institute
§ Mrs. Whiteheads Third Grade
Watuga County Schools Boone North Carolina
§ The Ministry of Environment,
Colombia
§ The National Science
Foundation Office of Polar Programs
§ The North American Association
For Environmental Education
§ US Permafrost
Association
§ University Corporation for
Atmospheric Research
With the addition of multimedia
content we will be able to attract even more visitors interested in learning. We
will have video content that will be available on demand to any viewer of the
sites. We will also be adding interactive content and features.
We have incorporated content from
Youtube and Google on The http://www.solcomhouse.com website and have received
positive feedback and requests for original content from our visitors. The
following links are an example of what the proposed project will look like as
embedded on the site-
http://www.solcomhouse.com/bono.htm
http://www.solcomhouse.com/mlk.htm
http://www.solcomhouse.com/usa.htm
http://www.solcomhouse.com/hiphoprap.htm
http://www.solcomhouse.com/angelinajolie.htm
