Students head to D.C. for solar house competition

By Scott Norgaard     9/17/09 7:00pm

Decathlons, it seems, are not solely for athletes. In December 2007, the United States Department of Energy selected Rice as one of 20 teams, including international competitors, to compete in the Solar Decathlon, a competition that is designed to prove that solar technology is a viable solution for homes in the future. Rice's entry, the 15-by-50-foot ZEROW House finished last week by a team of students and professors, will be judged by professionals in architecture and engineering during the main event, held Oct. 8-21 at The National Mall in Washington D.C.

The competition is composed of 10 different events, each focusing on one element of the house design. These areas include architecture, market viability and engineering, among others.

Roque Sanchez, an environmental engineering graduate student and key leader in the development of this project, estimated that about 150 students worked on the project over four years. During the first two years an initial design was submitted to the Department of Energy and the building process began after that.

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Sanchez (Wiess College '09) said the project utilized a building workshop, a collaborative effort between the School of Architecture and the George R. Brown School of Engineering, where students from various disciplines could contribute to the project. The faculty advisers for the effort were Architecture Professors Danny Samuels and Nonya Grenader and Mechanical Engineering Professor Brent Houchens.

Sanchez said the team aimed to show the public that solar power is a livable solution.

"We didn't use exotic materials," Sanchez said. "We tried to bring the home down to earth."

The home features a simple wooden construction and uses foam insulation to keep the interior highly insulated. Another key design component of the house involves dividing the house into two cores, one specifically designated for major piping and plumbing, the other allotted as a well-lit space for living, Sanchez said.

The main challenge the competing houses will face is energy consumption, which is why Rice's team incorporated a solar array to power the home. The goal of the teams is to have a net-zero energy consumption, Sanchez said. The house's solar panels contribute to the house's electricity grid when there is more solar energy than the house requires. Thus, when there is not sufficient solar energy, as at night, the house draws the energy from the grid.

In order to meet their goal, the team is applying a variety of energy-efficient electrical solutions, such as LED lights, which Sanchez said are more efficient than fluorescent bulbs.

The competitors are also challenged with practical tasks during the competition to make sure the house functions in real-life situations. Among these tasks are running the lights for three hours during each night of the competition, as well as running the appliances multiple times to make sure the house is livable, Sanchez said.

In addition to the design challenges of the competition, another main hurdle is the transportation of the house. The team's house is built on a steel chassis, which will make moving it easy, Sanchez said. In order to effectively transport the house, some trees near Wiess will have to be temporarily removed.

The cost of constructing the house is $159,000, coming in just below the challenge target of $160,000. The total cost of the project, including transportation of the house and travel and housing for the participants, is $274,000. Funding was obtained through various means, including private and public donations of both money and materials. Sanchez said the bamboo flooring, for instance, was donated by a local company.

"We had student teams that would go to architecture firms and engineering firms and make a proposal," Sanchez said.

After the competition ends, Sanchez said his team hopes to install the house in Houston's Third Ward. He said they are currently looking for a plot of land for the house.

Although the specific house designed by the group is planned to be placed in the Third Ward, the impact of this competition may expand beyond the universities' houses, Sanchez said.

"We want to show the general public that solar technology is very applicable to home construction," Sanchez said.

Sid Richardson College senior Emily Prehn said she envisions this new set of eco-friendly houses will be the wave of the future.

"It seemed like a streamlined design," she said. "I hope it turns out to be a practical option for low-income families."

Despite the competition and the fact that environmentally-friendly houses may be a large aspect of future home construction, Sanchez said Rice's team is not stressed about the outcome of the national competition.

"We are just going to do our own thing," Sanchez said.

For more information, see the Web site for Rice's ZEROW House, http://www.ricesolardecathlon.org or follow it on Twitter at twitter.com/ ZEROWHouse.

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