Arizona team among 20 in national competition
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Thursday will view the University of Arizona’s entry in the Solar Decathlon, a national competition to design and build the most energy-efficient solar-powered house.
“To compete in the Solar Decathlon is a tremendous honor for the University of Arizona,” said Giffords. “This an exciting time for solar energy and every Arizonan should be proud that a team of students from our state is part of it.”
Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Solar Decathlon is aimed at promoting green technology. More than 800 students from 20 universities in the United States, Canada, Spain and Germany are competing.
Each team now has its entry – a home that can be no larger than 800 square feet – on display in the nation’s capital. They have transformed the National Mall into a temporary village of cutting-edge solar homes.
Giffords will tour the UA’s solar home at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15. The tour is expected to last 30 minutes. Media are welcome.
“As someone who passionately believes in the promise and potential of solar energy, it is amazing for me to see so many solar homes on display here at the foot of the Capitol,” said Giffords. “These homes and the students who built them represent the kind of innovative thinking that will help lead us into a future of clean renewable energy.”
On Sept. 16, Giffords introduced the Solar Technology Roadmap Act, a bill that would require the Department of Energy to appoint a group of experts to create a long-term plan to guide solar energy research and its transition into commercial uses. The bill was approved and sent to the full House by the Science and Technology Committee on Oct. 7.
The University of Arizona entry in the Solar Decathlon is a one-story home made of recycled steel and uses solar energy for heating and lighting. The roof is designed to harvest water and supports photovoltaic panels that can produce more than eight kilowatts of electricity – twice what would be needed to power a much larger home.
One of the home’s signature features is a water-filled wall that forms a solar thermal collector – sunlight comes through the glass and the radiant heat is absorbed by the mass and warms the air between the glass and the wall.
“The house is designed to work in the hot, humid climate of Washington, D.C., but also to work very intelligently for the hot climate of southern Arizona,” Larry Medlin, a UA architecture professor, told the Arizona Republic. “Historically, construction has used high technology to overpower nature. But with the questions of resources, global warming and too much carbon emissions, our underlying concept is to interact intelligently and use the resources of nature.”
Each entry in the Solar Decathlon will be judged on whether it can maintain a comfortable temperature and produce sufficient hot water. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the entry’s solar technology, televisions will be left on for six hours each day. The teams also must hold a movie night for neighbors, who rate their hosts based on the quality of the home theater system, as well as “design, ambiance, and overall experience.” Architecture, market viability and engineering are also graded.
Other teams competing are: Cornell University, Iowa State University, Penn State, Rice University, The Ohio State University, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Virginia Tech, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Kentucky, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Team Alberta, Team Boston, Team California, Team Missouri, Technische Universitat Darmstadt and Team Ontario/BC.