Students' Solar House Shines in Washington, D.C.
Posted on: Wednesday, 12 October 2005, 00:00 CDT
By Sally Connell, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Oct. 11--A solar house built by Cal Poly architecture students and now on display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is in second place in the Department of Energy-sponsored Solar Decathlon competition.
Cal Poly's house, which features an awning that doubles as a solar panel, a deck on the roof and more, won second in both the "architecture" and "dwelling" portions of the competition. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University won first in both categories.
The competition involves 18 college entries that must compete in 10 categories, such as comfort level, lighting and providing enough energy to power an electric vehicle. The winner will be announced Friday.
Overcast skies have made the project more interesting, says Cal Poly architecture professor Sandra Stannard, because house batteries cannot recharge as quickly under cloud cover.
"In a way, it makes it more interesting than if we had full sunshine," she said. Stannard said the house has been open to the public except during some of the small contests that have come up.
"Today we had to close during the dishwasher contest, the shower contest and the electric car contest," she said.
The "Solar CalPoly" entry is the only one from California. It has 500 square feet of inside space and a total footprint of 650 square feet.
The public was allowed into the buildings this weekend, and about 20,000 people toured the houses Sunday, according to Department of Energy spokesman John Horst. An equally large crowd had been expected Monday for the Columbus Day holiday.
See more photos of the event at http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/12869492.htm.
-----
To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sanluisobispo.com.
Copyright (c) 2005, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
Source: The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
Related Articles
- Cal Poly Engineering To Dedicate Solar Energy System Dec. 7
- Cal Poly's Concrete Canoe More Than Floats: Team of Engineers Take Second at National Contest
- Cal Poly Grad Ceremonies Last 2 Weekends: First One is Sunday From College of Education
- Cal Poly's Own Agri-Crisis Brings Lectures to Life
- Mealybug Jumps to Third Greenhouse at Cal Poly
- Cal Poly President Pushes for More Math and Science Teachers
- Cal Poly a Bright Spot in Contest
- Cal Poly's Continuing Education Program Offers Lifelong Learning
- Cal Poly Names New Provost
- Cal Poly Among Best in the West
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds