The News-Gazette.com: UI takes second in solar decathlon competition

UI takes second in solar decathlon competition

By Julie Wurth

Friday, October 16, 2009 11:51 AM CDT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A solar-powered house designed by University of Illinois students took second place in a competition sponsored by the Department of Energy.

The 800-square-foot Gable House, whose design evokes a Midwestern farmhouse, finished just behind Team Germany in the Solar Decathlon, which challenged students to design, build and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar home.

“We’re pretty excited. We think that we produced a house that performed extremely well,” said project manager Joe Simon, a graduate student in architecture and business administration.

The house was built on the UI campus and moved to the National Mall in Washington this month for the contest, which drew 20 teams from select universities around the world.

In a tight finish, the UI team finished with 897.3 points, just 11 points behind Germany. Team California took third. The UI’s last entry, in 2007, finished ninth.

“We are very happy. We put a lot of work into it,” Simon said.

University of Illinois entry in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. By Stefano Paltera/US Dept. of Energy

The UI remained among the top teams in the standings most of the week and moved into first place Thursday after receiving high marks for lighting design.

Team Germany squeaked ahead Friday by taking first in the biggest category, net metering, which measured the homes’ energy use. The UI house produces four times the energy it needs, and was awarded 137 out of a possible 150 points, but Germany received a perfect score.

Germany’s house, a two-story cube covered with black solar panels, used an 18-kilowatt solar energy system, which outproduced the UI’s smaller 9-kilowatt system, Simon said. The Department of Energy is considering a 10-kilowatt cap next year to level the playing field, he said.

“In terms of the actual performance of the house, we feel we did extremely well,” Simon said.

Germany finished in the top five spots in all but one of the 10 categories.
The UI house took first in three categories — hot water, appliances and home entertainment.

“I think they did a remarkable job,” said Joe Verrengia, spokesman for the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

While Germany’s house stood out because it produced so much solar power — generating a surplus even during the last three days of rain — the UI house won big marks because of its energy-efficiency, he said.

“That’s where we can make the biggest immediate difference as a country” on energy conservation, Verrengia said. “It’s not just covering your house with solar panels and trying to make more electricity. It’s trying to make clean energy and doing more with it.”

After the 2007 competition, UI team members said they wanted to prove that a house could use the latest in energy technology and still have the feel of a real home. The exterior features siding made of 100-year-old reclaimed barn wood and a traditional gable roof profile but also high-efficiency solar panels.

The house used 90 percent less energy than typical construction and can be heated with a single hair-dryer. The walls, metal roof and floor have nearly 12 inches of high-performance insulation. Laminated bamboo, which is renewable and stronger than other wood, was used for structural elements.

A custom hot-water system heat exchanger helps heat and cool the air in the house. Efficiency LED lights and energy-efficient stove, dishwasher and refrigerator reduce electric demand.

The house, which has a more traditional style than most of the entries, received lower marks from judges in subjective categories such as architecture and market viability. But that’s “kind of in the eye of the beholder,” said Cam Greenlee, student leader of the UI’s architecture team.

The UI house was the second most affordable home in the competition and still placed second, said Mark Taylor, professor of architecture and a team adviser.

“We believe our home could penetrate a very large market in the state of Illinois and the Midwest,” Greenlee said.

The UI project totaled about $600,000, including in-kind donations, said engineering Prof. Patrick Chapman, another team adviser. Each team was given a $100,000 seed grant from the Department of Energy, and the UI team also received $200,000 from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation.

More than 200 people worked on the house, mostly from the College of Engineering and the College of Fine and Applied Arts.

Students designed the house and hired Homeway Homes to help construct the shell and install some drywall, electrical and plumbing systems, Chapman said. Students designed and finished the interior and installed mechanical equipment, the solar array and other systems.

Simon said all the departments involved worked together to produce a house that is sustainable, energy-efficient and marketable to the public.
All of the houses used systems and components that are commercially available, Verrengia said.

“It’s the design and integration that makes the difference,” he said. “They put their ingenuity to it.”

The houses will remain on the Mall through Sunday.

On the web: www.solardecathlon.org