Slogging Through The Rain at The Solar Decathlon

Since the ancient days at Greek Decathlons are run regardless of weather conditions. This year's DOE Solar Decathlon was no exception. Sure, there were days where the sun was shining. The temperature almost reached 90 several times. But, there were also 18 days where there was at least drizzle - over 8” of rain fell during the month of September.

Why am I giving you weather analysis instead of talking about the event? This year half of the houses achieved a net-zero energy usage in spite of the weather conditions. The final two days were rainy, cold and windy – in a word, raw. Yet thousands of people stood in line for as long as 45 minutes to visit the 20 homes constructed in West Potomac Park for this competition.

There were houses that looked like a Craftsman

from just down the street and one that looked like it escaped from a 1960's custom car show.

 The Chinese home was constructed from 6 cargo containers

and the Canadian entry [University of Calgary] was emblematic of the country's native tribal heritage.





 All of them optimized the living space by clever (sometimes ingenious) uses of storage and living areas and strategic locations of “core” systems like plumbing, mechanical and ventilation.

Some used the orientation of the windows to provide heating (from the South in the Winter) and cooling (from the North in the Summer).



Some used lithium or calcium chloride baths to extract humidity from the HVAC system. Some used movable vanes or shutters to block the sun and to absorb energy from it to use as a heat source during the night (Trombe wall).

AND THE WINNER IS!!!!

The University of Maryland entry was judged to be the “Best In Show” by the panel of judges. We heard that a team of students from UMD visited the event in 2009 armed with pads, pens and observant minds and eyes. It showed. Their entry was complete – it solved problems, it was pleasing to the eye, it was comfortable for living and it contained little “gems” at every turn. The half-round gutters were attractive and caught every drop of rainwater. The wall systems harvested condensation like that formed “on a can of beer” and channeled it into the water troughs that rimmed the house. Grey water was processed through a bio-filter to make it useful for other purposes in the home – commodes, irrigation, washing of surfaces, etc. The students designed a table that “morphed” into a bed – or maybe vice versa. It was well worth standing in the rain to see.

 
The team from Purdue University placed second in the competition. Theirs' was the home that resembled a Craftsman. A couple of the features in their ventilation system design were the use of decorative beams to run heating ducts to the outer walls and a living wall that was used to “clean” the air going to the return. Aesthetically, the colors and materials really worked well together to create a very pleasing environment inside and out. They were within 20 points (2 percent) of the winning team.

First Light is the Victoria University Of Wellington's (New Zealand) entry in the competition and is so named because New Zealand is the first place to see the morning light at the beginning of each day. The home was clad with removable red cedar panels.

They utilized decks around and through the home to increase the available living space. Folding exterior doors, pocket doors and shutters that closed the “skylights” at night were very functional and beautiful design decisions that allowed this light to really shine.

The entry for Appalachian State University was awarded the “Peoples' Choice” award. As we walked up the entrance ramp, I asked the student guide what purpose the bark panel on the exterior served. They said it was harvested near their campus and was there to simply indicate the heritage (the “place”) of their school – where they come from. They used the same materials to cover the detached Guest House/Office.

This house also had a “scary” guy [he knew enough about the subject to make your head swim] who talked about using paraffin as the medium to exchange the heat from the solar hot water tubes to the domestic hot-water system. He also told us that, having purchased “off-the-shelf” sensors and software, his team “tweaked” them to make them do what they wanted.

There were 16 other entered homes in this competition. To see them and the teams that created them you only need to visit Solar Decathlon Teams and follow the links. If you didn't have an opportunity to visit this event in 2011, please make it a priority in 2013. In each home there were excited, engaged bright young men and women whose purpose was to demonstrate the technologies and materials we'll all need to understand and embrace in the coming years and decades.

It is a privilege to congratulate each of these teams and their mentors on their inclusion in this event and to thank them for their hard work. May God bless them in their future endeavors, whatever course it is they may choose. They truly brightened the ground we sloshed around on this October 1st and 2nd.