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10/8/2009

Rice's unconventional house making waves -- and energy -- at Solar Decathlon
Rice is first team ready for international competition

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BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu welcomed Rice University and 19 other university-led teams to the nation's capital today as he officially opened the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. The Solar Decathlon, a student competition to design and build houses powered entirely by the sun, is being held on the National Mall from Oct. 8 to 16.

The only team from Texas chosen to participate, Rice is one of the smallest schools represented, going up against schools with 10 times the number of students and teams with five times the budget.

	As the first team to complete assembly of its entry in the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall and pass inspections, the Rice team was also the first to remove hard hats and construction boots and take in the experience.

The average budget for the 20 houses on the mall is $490,000; however, Rice's house -- ZEROW HOUSE -- was created with a building and material budget of only $140,000. The team took the unconventional approach so that its design and concepts could be replicated in six energy-efficient, one- and two-bedroom homes on two 50-by-80-foot lots in Houston's Third Ward neighborhood.

"Our house is a little different from the others out on the National Mall," said Roque Sanchez, a Rice graduate student. "But that's because we built ours for Houston. It still looks awesome out here between the Capitol and Washington Monument, but we're excited to bring it back home and hope it will be a big winner."

Immediately after the Solar Decathlon, ZEROW HOUSE will be transported back to its permanent location in Houston, at the corner of Francis Street and Bastrop Street. There, Project Row Houses, a Houston-area organization that seeks to develop housing for low- to moderate-income families, will select two local residents who will call it home.

Though the competition just began, the Rice team is already off to a good start. It was the first team to finish its house and pass all of its inspections. As of this morning, ZEROW HOUSE has produced 29 kilowatt hours of surplus energy since the team began measuring Oct. 6.

Solar Decathlon photo gallery
Get a behind-the-scenes look at Rice University's progress in the 2009 Solar Decathlon Blogging from D.C.
Follow the Rice Solar Decathlon team by reading the group's latest blog entries Ready for competition
Rice's team is ready to take on the competition at the Solar Decathlon "We are doing really well," said Brent Houchens, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and a faculty adviser for ZEROW HOUSE. "We've been up and running for a few days now, and our energy use is among the lowest on the mall."

ZEROW HOUSE has been designed to produce enough energy through solar technology for the building to run independently of the electric grid. The team chose off-the-shelf, solar photovoltaic panels so that a typical house owner would be able to purchase them. Through the panels and a solar hot-water system, the house is supplied with enough energy to run the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, appliances and lighting, while having hot water for the bathroom, kitchen and laundry needs. The team's mini-split ductless HVAC system is 33 percent more efficient than traditional units and cools the house in two zones.

The surplus energy generated by the house will be fed back into the electric grid, which is more efficient than using batteries to store the energy and can produce revenue for the owner at certain times during the year.

ZEROW HOUSE also uses a solar thermal collector, which absorbs thermal energy from the sun and converts it into usable heat. The solar heat is absorbed by a freeze-resistant water mixture that can then be used to heat domestic water within the hot-water tank. To further promote energy efficiency, the team used lysine spray-foam insulation, which minimizes air leakage in the walls.

LED lighting is used throughout the house. Because of that, the wattage for a typical fixture in ZEROW HOUSE is three watts, keeping the total wattage of the house under 200.

The house is clad with Galvalume siding -- a low maintenance material has that resists corrosion in Houston's humid climate. The metal panels are made from 25 to 35 percent recycled materials. The flooring in the house is all bamboo, a natural fast-growing wood. Though bamboo is traditionally more expensive that laminate flooring, it is more durable and more cost-efficient in the long run.

Over the past two years, more than 150 Rice students have worked through Rice Building Workshop on ZEROW HOUSE with the support of engineering and architecture faculty members. Follow the progress of the ZEROW HOUSE team at http://www.rice.edu.

For full event information, current standings, high-resolution photos and video, an event schedule and daily results, visit http://www.solardecathlon.org.