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May 9, 2009 11:06 am US/Central
U Of M Students Team Sprint To Finish Solar House
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ―
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The university's solar decathlon team has put 15 months of planning into the house, and once it's completed they'll take it to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in October to compete against 19 other schools in a biennial national competition. (File)
CBS
University of Minnesota students are firing up their drills and saws as they begin construction on a fully functioning house that's powered exclusively by the sun.
The university's solar decathlon team has put 15 months of planning into the house, and once it's completed they'll take it to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in October to compete against 19 other schools in a biennial national competition.
The team hopes to have the house finished by July 1, so it can be put on display on the East Bank campus in August.
Once completed, the 800-square-foot house will include a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room and porch. Ann Johnson, project manager and director of the school's construction management program, said the team focused on making it look like a regular residential home -- something many hi-tech solar houses fail to do.
"It's not a new age, space age, Star Trek house," Johnson said. "It's really meant to look like something you might see in a neighborhood, something that would blend in."
The home's design incorporates its solar panels into the design of the house, rather than mounted on brackets. "The roof system is the solar system," said Brian Henke, an electrical engineering graduate student on the solar decathlon team.
In addition to heating and electricity, the house will also use solar energy to provide hot water. Solar panels will be integrated into the windows to provide further energy efficiency.
Johnson estimated the house will cost about $400,000 to construct. Many of the materials were either donated or bought at a reduced price, and grants from the Department of Energy and the university's Institute on Renewable Energy and the Environment have also helped defray costs.
Director Richard Hemmingsen said the institute decided to support the project because it offered the chance for students from numerous disciplines to collaborate on a project relating to solar energy -- which he called "underutilized and underappreciated."
The house is being constructed in three modules to make it easier to transport to Washington. After the competition, the team will bring it back to Minnesota and place it at UMore Park in Rosemount where it will be open for tours and educational visits.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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