Kiwi bach competes in US

The FirstLight bach will enter next year's international contest to build the most energy-efficient house. Photo / Supplied

Plans for a Kiwi bach that generates more power than it uses are on display next week as the nation's universities showcase to business their latest innovations.

Victoria University's FirstLight bach will compete in a United States Department of Energy contest next year to build the most efficient solar-powered house.

Models and designs for the bach will be on show at the University of Auckland's business school on Tuesday in an expo demonstrating the latest energy and infrastructure technologies from the country's seven universities.

The event is one of a series of 15 being held over a year to showcase the universities' work to the commercial sector.

The aim is to improve New Zealand's record of co-operation between scientific and business communities.

Four masters students at Victoria's architecture school were "over the moon" in April to get the news that their Kiwi bach had been chosen as one of 20 houses competing in the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon.

It is the first time a team from a Southern Hemisphere university has been chosen.

The homes will be erected on Washington DC's National Mall next year and compete in a series of 10 contests to be the most energy efficient.

The challenges include hosting two energy-neutral dinner parties and a movie night, and building the home for less than US$250,000 ($328,000).

The teams get full marks in the affordability challenge if they stick to the budget.

One of the founders of the project, Nick Officer, was confident his team could achieve that.

"New Zealanders are inherently good at doing things on the cheap. It's a big budget for a 70sq m house."

In previous years some of the houses were "more akin to space stations", he said.

Last year's winning German team spent US$1 million on a 60sq m dwelling.

While the affordability competition next year would put the lid on spending, the Victoria team also wanted to move away from high-tech to a home that reflected the simple Kiwi way of life.

One of the bach's design features was a decking area with a skylight in the middle which created an outdoor space inside, said Officer.

"We want to take that kind of social interaction that happens at the bach, where families come together and reconnect with the landscape."

As part of the rules, all the solar technology used had to be available commercially.

Officer said it was a massive project that had pulled together most departments in the university and a core team of 40 was working on it.

"That kind of collaboration doesn't normally happen."