2008 Woodie Awards
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College teams build solar-powered homes on Mall
International competition showcases new energies
By Kaylor Garcia on 10/25/07
Students at AU can major in environmental studies, but there is not a great concentration on the sciences here, said David Smedick, vice president of Eco-Sense and a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences.
A couple years ago, classes on green technology were available to students, but they have not been offered since, according to Smedick.
"I think it'd be awesome if they had a specialized class or two or more focused on green technology," he said.
The 20 teams in the decathlon represented the 20 best proposals submitted to the Department of Energy. The requests for proposals for this year's competition began in October 2005 with a final submission deadline at the end of that year, according to the Solar Decathlon's Web site.
One school taking part in the event, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, submitted a proposal in December, based on the best of three housing designs from students in an architecture class during the fall 2005 semester, said Diana Husmann, a senior at MIT.
"I am awed by the other houses, and MIT," said Myriam Husmann, Diana's mother. "They did this in one year while everyone else had two or more years to prepare."
The MIT house used glass-like tiles containing water surrounded by insulation as part of the air conditioning system. Known as "aerogel" tiles, the water traps heat from the sun during the day and transmits the heat back into the house during the cooler night hours. Other features of their house included cabinetry made of sorghum, a by-product of the reed used to make molasses, and cabinets made from compressed recycled newspaper, also called paper stone.
The house would cost an estimated $250,000 to make, but it is only a rough estimate because the team received many donations for materials, Dian Husmann said. Labor was also not included in the cost of the homes because each team built its house.
Because of the various areas students had to take into account when creating the house, flexibility was important for her.
"I've been everything from a student to a product researcher to a tour guide," Husmann said. "[This competition] is about taking challenges given to you and running with it."
A couple years ago, classes on green technology were available to students, but they have not been offered since, according to Smedick.
"I think it'd be awesome if they had a specialized class or two or more focused on green technology," he said.
The 20 teams in the decathlon represented the 20 best proposals submitted to the Department of Energy. The requests for proposals for this year's competition began in October 2005 with a final submission deadline at the end of that year, according to the Solar Decathlon's Web site.
One school taking part in the event, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, submitted a proposal in December, based on the best of three housing designs from students in an architecture class during the fall 2005 semester, said Diana Husmann, a senior at MIT.
"I am awed by the other houses, and MIT," said Myriam Husmann, Diana's mother. "They did this in one year while everyone else had two or more years to prepare."
The MIT house used glass-like tiles containing water surrounded by insulation as part of the air conditioning system. Known as "aerogel" tiles, the water traps heat from the sun during the day and transmits the heat back into the house during the cooler night hours. Other features of their house included cabinetry made of sorghum, a by-product of the reed used to make molasses, and cabinets made from compressed recycled newspaper, also called paper stone.
The house would cost an estimated $250,000 to make, but it is only a rough estimate because the team received many donations for materials, Dian Husmann said. Labor was also not included in the cost of the homes because each team built its house.
Because of the various areas students had to take into account when creating the house, flexibility was important for her.
"I've been everything from a student to a product researcher to a tour guide," Husmann said. "[This competition] is about taking challenges given to you and running with it."
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