Solar Decathalon

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Author Message John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 646 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Friday, July 19, 2013 - 11:37 am:    The US Department of Energy Solar Decathalon will be held October 3 through 13, 2013 at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, CA. The site is the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which is being (slowly) transformed into an urban park the size of Central Park (NYC), Balboa Park (San Diego) and Golden Gate Park (San Francisco) combined. Make no mistake, it won't be as lush as these other parks. One of the features of the Solar Decathalon is a competition between 20 university teams who design and construct demonstration houses that rely upon solar energy. This year, electric vehicles will be included with separate competitions and demostrations of electric vehicle recharging stations (with photovoltaic power sources). Sustainable building materials and practices are givens for the designs. Previously, the Solar Decathalon was held on the Washington Mall. The day I visited, it was overcast and the photovoltaics weren't working. October in Southern California should not have that problem; the site is far enough from the ocean for any overcast to burn off usually by mid-morning. It's too early for rain. Info: solardecathlon.gov John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 653 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - 02:42 pm:    A large shipping container has been delivered to the Great Park. It contains the products necessary to tie the photovoltaic systems of the demonstration houses to the power grid of the serving utility. And it connects the electrical power panels of the houses to the grid for when the sun isn't shining, like at night. I'm thinking that the Solar Decathalon will be like going to a large auto show where automobile prototypes are shown. They aren't necessarily "road worthy" but they shape the future. Mark Gilligan SE, Senior Member Username: mark_gilligan Post Number: 593 Registered: 10-2007 Posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - 04:20 pm:    Because of safety concerns most of the solar panels installed on buildings cannot be used to supply power in the event that the grid is down. There are ways around this but most systems have not implemented them. Next time solar panels are used on one of your projects let the Client know that they will not be available to provide power in the event of a disaster and challenge your electrical engineer. Richard Gonser AIA CSI CCCA SCIP Senior Member Username: rich_gonser Post Number: 46 Registered: 11-2008 Posted on Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - 04:39 pm:    Perhaps we can have one of our Orange County Spec Writers meetings there at this show at the "Great Park". A local rep or two is probably involved. I have to drive by it to go to our regular meetings anyway. John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 655 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - 02:54 am:    Rich: Yes, we independent specifiers of "The OC" should attend the Solar Decathalon and see what the future of building products will look like. We might meet some of our clients there ... probably more than at the local CSI Product show. Just be sure to wear green. John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 656 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 - 02:21 pm:    Yesterday's Orange County Register (daily newspaper) announced that the US Department of Energy-sponsored Solar Decathalon will include displays of hybrid and electric vehicles, including opportunities for test driving. It's part of the Green Streets component of the Solar Decathalon. Previously, vehicles were not permitted on the Mall in Washington, DC and thus were not part of the program. The solar houses will include provisions for "sustainable" vehicles, such as charging stations. Also reported yesterday, in the Irvine World News (a 12+ page newspaper published daily by the Orange County Register for residents of Irvine), was an article that was a plea for financial support of Team Texas, one of the competing university teams. The team represents the University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College. Their house design will feature traditional pueblo designs that adapt to desert environments. They are short $300k for the cost of supplies, participants' travel and housing, and shipping the house. These demonstration houses and participation aren't cheap. J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 594 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 10:08 am:    It is my understanding from working with the team from Rice University on previous projects, that these are required to have construction documents including specifications. The specs are all a bit ragged, but it does give the students good exposure. George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: geverding Post Number: 668 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 10:55 am:    USGBC chapter here had a presentation by students from Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly University of Missouri at Rolla) on their Solar Decathalon project. http://solarhouse.mst.edu/ These houses are assembled at the home univesity first, then disassembled and trucked to the Decathalon site where they are reassembled for the competition. Missouri S&T has been involved in several of the previous decathalons, and has returned their houses to campus, where they are occupied and monitored to see how well they perform over time. Here's their solar village site: http://ose3.mst.edu/greenplaces/solarvillage/index2/ It is a big deal, and an impressive presenation by the students. I haven't gotten down to Rolla to tour the Solar Village yet, but it is on my to do list for sure, and just based on what I saw at their presentation, I would concur that the Decathalon should be a must see for you west coasters. George A. Everding AIA CSI CCS CCCA Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies St. Louis, MO John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 657 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 02:08 pm:    I checked the AIA Orange County website regarding the Solar Decathlon. As noted there, a component will be the XPO, a "clean, renewable and efficient energy exposition". For more general information, see the City of Irvine's website. http://www.cityofirvine.org/services/solar_decathlon.asp ADMISSION WILL BE FREE ... but I'm sure that parking will be at least $10. And vehicular and pedestrian traffic congestion could be "worldclass" as well. AIA Orange County is involved too. From their website, I found a statement that it is expected that 300,000 will attend. Even if this is off by a factor of 2, it's an impressive number. This ain't a small deal. John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 659 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Thursday, August 01, 2013 - 02:49 pm:    Solar Decatholon 2013 website, teams competing: •Arizona State University and The University of New Mexico (Tempe, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico) •Czech Technical University (Prague, Czech Republic) •Hampton University and Old Dominion University (Hampton and Norfolk, Virginia) •Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont) •Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla, Missouri) •Norwich University (Northfield, Vermont) •Queens University, Carleton University, and Algonquin College (Kingston and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) •Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, California) •Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology (Los Angeles, California) •Stanford University (Palo Alto, California) •Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, New Jersey) •The Catholic University of America, George Washington University, and American University (Washington, DC) •The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, North Carolina) •The University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College (El Paso, Texas) •University of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) •University of Louisville, Ball State University and University of Kentucky (Louisville, Kentucky; Muncie, Indiana; and Lexington, Kentucky) •University of Nevada Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada) •University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California) •Vienna University of Technology (Vienna, Austria) •West Virginia University (Morgantown, West Virginia). Looks pretty diverse. Guest (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Monday, August 05, 2013 - 01:11 am:    Just curious if anyone happened to write specs for any of the teams? J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 597 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Monday, August 05, 2013 - 10:29 am:    I think the rules say that they have to develop specifications themselves. In previous years, I have met with team members from the School of Architecture at Rice University. George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: geverding Post Number: 671 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Monday, August 05, 2013 - 11:03 am:    That's the impression I got from the presentation I saw. They have professional advisors (what Peter did), but they the work themselves. George A. Everding AIA CSI CCS CCCA Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies St. Louis, MO Guest (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Tuesday, August 06, 2013 - 12:23 am:    Oops...I didn't know there were such restrictions...I was only doing what I was asked.