Lumen, which means “the power of light,” was fundamental in naming the structure designed and built by students from Virginia Tech for the 2010 Solar Decathlon in Madrid, Spain.

Lumenhaus, as shown in this You TubeLumenhaus video, is very much worth taking the time to look.

During the day, this house maximizes occupants’ exposure to natural daylight. There is much research that shows natural light such as this can improves mood and well being, says the Virginia Tech design team. At Lumenhaus, energy collected during the day is symbolically radiated back out at night through a low-energy lighting system within the insulating panels.

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Scientists from Cornell University have unveiled a basic process that could give solar cells a boost in efficiency and a drop in price. The process employs molecules typically used in coloring blue jeans and in ink dyes. Their purpose if to build an organic framework that could serve as a building block for cheaper and flexible solar cells.

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After having installed the heating systems of some of their buildings based on underground springs, and mini-windmills on buildings, the people of Paris will have yet another clean energy generation project right under their famous and historical bridges. They call them “hydroliennes”, or water turbines, powered by the river Seine (if you haven’t visited Paris, you should).

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