Inside The First BillionBricks powerHYDE Prototype- An Affordable Solar Home For the Rural Homeless in India

The First prototype of the BillionBricks powerHYDE has been built in Mathjalgaon Village in India and is owned by family have been living in it since October 2019 after having been without a home for many years. 

The BillionBricks powerHYDE home is built via an indigenous prefabricated assembly technique that makes it easy to assemble in remote locations. Each 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. Along with producing their energy, the user of the home can and also harvest 100% of the rainwater, clean their sewage and potentially grow their own food. Future BillionBricks homes will be integrated with smart technologies to improve their performance even more.

Sustainable Systems lower the Environmental impact of the Billionbricks Home:

  • Solar power generation and sale to smart grids
  • Rain water harvesting for use in the household
  • Seasonal Food cultivation
  • Stack ventilation for improved indoor climate
  • Machinery-free, tension-based column construction

In order to optimise construction time and structural quality, BillionBricks is developing its own low cost
and hand-held pre-fabrication technology for structural and service systems. This will allow pre-fabricated components to be assembled on site without the use of specialised equipment or heavy machinery.

BillionBricks homes are constructed as a combination of prefabricated and localised elements. It’s unique combination of 30% prefabricated solar roof and structural systems along with 70% localised finishes allows the home to adapt to various cultures, climates, needs and contexts making it fit for a global market.

The design of a BillionBricks home can be broken down into a kit of parts. Designed with very few components, the house allows easy construction, maintenance, repair and disassembly.
The framework of powerHYDE is universal, but the infill is flexible. It is customisable to the multitude of variations in climate, social context and geographies

There are two more BillionBricks homes built and being used in the Philippines. BillionBricks is currently planning a community of 500 homes in the same area that will generate 10MW of power. You can see our previous feature on the concept here.

“BillionBricks homes are plug-and-play modular homes that do not need any connection to services and could be made functional from the day of completion of construction,”

Billion Bricks

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