350-ton crane moves DesertSol home into place

Visitors walking through the Springs Preserve botanical garden saw a house being lifted into the air by a 350-ton crane on Tuesday afternoon. The gardens will become the permanent home to the UNLV DesertSol house.

The home is the eighth LEED-certified building on the grounds of the Springs Preserve and will be open to the public in about a month. The home was awarded second place in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon in October of last year. It uses a a photovoltaic system and a solar thermal system to heat water and provide power.

Daniel Huard, a project manager for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, said that the Springs Preserve was the ideal spot to showcase the DesertSol home’s energy conservation techniques.

One module was lifted into place early Tuesday afternoon. The other will also be lifted by the massive crane. A deck and landscaping will be installed before the home is open to the public.