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CUE 2007
CU Solar Decathlon Team Unveils Design for 2007 Contest Entry

Local architects volunteer their time Jan. 19 to give the CU team feedback on this year's solar home design. Modifications are now being made as a result of the design jury's suggestions.

The CU Solar Decathlon team is going for a hat-trick. After winning the first-place trophy at the international competition to build the best zero-energy home in both 2002 and 2005, the CU team has set its sights even higher for 2007.

The team will not only design and build an 800-square foot "competition module," but also will design a full house to be built at a yet-to-be-disclosed site following the competition. The team unveiled its model to a design jury Jan. 19.

The competition module consists of one bedroom, one bath, a kitchen, living area, office, laundry room, and shed or garage, and will fit into the full house, which will encompass two stories and about 2,000 square feet of floor area, including three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, plenty of storage space, and outside decks.

"The most often repeated comment we heard from spectators at the 2005 event in Washington, D.C., was that their families could never live in a house this small," says engineering student Jon Previtali, who is continuing his involvement in the CU team this year. "Yet the competition regulations limit the size of each entry to 800 square feet. So we decided to play by the rules, but still show people they can have a full-sized, zero-energy home."

Other unique features of the 2007 home being designed by CU engineering and architecture students include building-integrated photovoltaic panels, which provide a waterproof roofing shell in addition to collecting solar energy, a ductless HVAC system featuring architecturally integrated heat exchangers, and a "mechanical spine" in which the plumbing and HVAC systems are centralized in a completely modular, pre-fabricated, structural core.

Xcel Energy has signed on as a major sponsor of this year's team, agreeing to pre-purchase the finished home for a price of $200,000. The energy company plans to incorporate the house into its future renewable energy testing and demonstration facility. Although the exact location has not yet been revealed, Xcel officials have assured the team it will be in a visible and publicly accessible area.

"We are very pleased to have Xcel's support as we strive to educate the public about the availability of renewable energy technologies and to show they can be easily integrated into today's production home market," says Professor Mich-ael Brandemuehl, who has served as faculty advisor to the team from the outset.

The 2007 Solar Decathlon will be the third competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Ren-ewable Energy, its National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the American Institute of Architects, BP, and Sprint.

Twenty teams from universities across America, Canada, Germany, Puerto Rico, and Spain will compete in 10 contests to see which team can design, build, and operate the most livable and energy-efficient completely solar-powered house. Construction of the CU home is scheduled to begin in May. The 2007 competition will be held from Oct. 12 to Oct. 20 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. For more information, go to http://solar.colorado.edu.