Tomorrow’s leaders are already working towards a cleaner future — that could be as bright as the sun.

The Solar Decathlon, an international competition hosted by the US Department of Energy (DOE), is showcasing solar-powered home designs created by students from around the world.

Students selected to participate were given two years to design and build the prototype solar homes, which must be carbon neutral and completely powered by the sun. The projects, many costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, are on display at the National Mall in Washington through Sunday (Oct. 18).

Two thousand students came together to form 20 teams, which are competing to win prizes in several categories, such as best architecture or engineering or “comfort zone”.

The Solar Decathlon Proposal Review Committee, which is made up of engineers, scientist, and other experts from the DOE and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory, selected the teams that they thought had the ability to meet the strict structural and safety requirements. Once selected, each team was given $100,000 to get started. Projects often require more, so individual teams then raise any additional funds.

“The U.S. Department of Energy supports the Solar Decathlon to encourage young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. DOE also supports the event to help move solar energy technologies to the market place faster. The Solar Decathlon helps accelerate the research and development of energy-efficiency and energy production technologies,” said John Horst, spokesperson for the Department of Energy.

The Solar Village

The 800-square-feet homes must be completely powered by the sun. They are meant to be prototype zero-energy, zero-carbon homes. The hope is that this competition stimulates research that will reduce the cost of solar-powered homes and the advancement of solar technology. While the Solar Decathlon aims to find ways to save money with solar technology, design and comfort are important as well.

The student teams represent universities from across North America, and two from Europe:

Reflective Louvers

• Cornell University
• Iowa State University
• Penn State
• Rice University
• Team Alberta (University of Calgary, SAIT Polytechnic, Alberta College of Art + Design, Mount Royal College)
• Team Boston (Boston Architectural College, Tufts University)
• Team California (Santa Clara University, California College of the Arts)
• Team Germany (Technische Universität Darmstadt)
• Team Missouri (Missouri University of Science and Technology, University of Missouri)
• Team Ontario/BC (University of Waterloo, Ryerson University, Simon Fraser University)
• Team Spain (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)
• The Ohio State University
• The University of Arizona
• Universidad de Puerto Rico
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• University of Kentucky
• University of Louisiana at Lafayette
• University of Minnesota
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Virginia Tech
  

  A student built solar home

There are a total of 10 contests throughout the competition, which began Oct. 8.

• Architecture: Architectural elements, holistic design, and inspiration are evaluated when looking at a house’s design. Market Viability: Houses are marketed to an audience of the team’s choice. Points are given based on a realistic approach to affordability, livability, ease of building, and marketability.
• Engineering: Houses are assessed based on reliability, innovation, efficiency, and functionality in engineering excellence.
• Lighting Design: Houses must include functional, energy-efficient, and aesthetically pleasing lighting systems. The judges score on the following categories: electric lighting quality, day lighting quality, ease of operation, flexibility, energy efficiency, and building integration.
• Communications: Teams are scored based on their verbal, written, and photographic communication of their houses. Messages must be consistent, effective, and able to engage a wide audience.
• Comfort Zone: In order to score points in this contest, houses must maintain a certain temperature and humidity inside during the competition.
• Hot Water: This contest displays how solar hot water systems are able to supply enough hot water daily.
• Appliances: House appliances must run like those of the average US home while using less energy. Throughout the contest, the houses must keep refrigerator and freezer temperatures within the typical range, wash and dry laundry, as well as run the dishwasher.
• Home Entertainment: This contest exhibits the houses’ ability to go beyond basic functions, like powering modern electronics and conveniences.
• Net Metering: The newest contest, measures how much energy the houses produce and consume throughout the competition, and rewards teams for producing more energy than they consume.

“Certainly it’s also important to raise awareness among the general public about renewable energy and energy efficiency and what technologies are available — that is, commercial off-the-shelf materials and supplies – today that can be used to help reduce energy use,” said Horst.

The Solar Decathlon encourages students to find practical solutions to a global problem. Their research is expected to be influential in the marketplace and bridge the worlds of science and business, showing that they have both dollar and environmental value.

The need for alternative energy is no longer an issue for the future. According to the US Department of Energy, the United States consumes about 100 quads of energy per year, with 22% of that coming from the residential sector. The cost of that energy is almost $1 million per minute, and the US consumes one-fourth of the world’s energy resources, but only contains 5% of the world’s population.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Deb Lovig’s official title at Cree, the lighting and semiconductor company, is “LED Programs Evangelist.” The description fits. Ask her to pick a favorite project and she’ll name five before you get her stopped. She’ll skip from North Carolina State’s dorm lighting project (see picture, right) to the University of California-Davis’ smart parking garage to Notre Dame’s beautiful acorn-shaped fixtures without taking a breath.

The projects are all part of Cree’s “LED University,” a program that combines the company’s expertise with university situations and helps campuses figure out how to begin evaluating LED lighting projects for themselves. While many organizations know that LED lighting is less expensive and lasts longer than conventional lighting, they aren’t sure where to take it from there. Interior projects? Exterior security? A total campus makeover?

“The biggest issue I see besides price is just not knowing how to start,” Lovig said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, is just get people to get started.”

The motivation is there, certainly. As LED (light-emitting diode) technology continues to develop in brightness and color, it is becoming a darling in the green market. LED devices reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption, and contain no mercury. And they can make a big difference in an electric bill, partly because they consume less energy and partly because they can last for as many as 20-25 years.

Take the South Entry Parking Structure at UC-Davis, for example. You might not think it’s a very exciting project, but Prof. Michael Siminovitch, the director of the university’s Lighting Technology Center, would disagree.

“Parking garages are kind of unique,” Siminovitch said. “Parking garages are pretty intensive energy users because it’s 24/7, and they’ve got some real safety and security issues. LEDs are really suited to smart applications. You can have controls that respond to occupancy.”

The lights in the garage can be set at half-power, increasing to full power when sensors detect people or movement within.

“It’s a real opportunity to demonstrate effectiveness of new technology,” Siminovitch said.

And an opportunity to illustrate cost efficiency as well, considering that lighting accounts for 20 percent of the overall energy use in a building, according to U.S. Department of Energy statistics.

“The numbers that we’ve presented to the vice chancellor, we’re talking statewide about 50 percent savings. And while we usually associate (cost savings) with having to do without, this is not the case. Here it’s not how much lighting, it’s more the quality of the lighting. Lighting that improves safety, essentially.”

From degree options to the availability of financial aid and extracurricular activities, college applicants consider a variety of factors when choosing a school.

A college’s sustainability practices are becoming another key factor, and The Princeton Review is trying to help students and parents by including a new category of “green ratings” in its college guides to be released this month.

Who topped the list? There are some surprises, from a school in the desert (hint: they are devilishly green) to that old Princeton rival….Well, we don’t want to ruin all the fun. But read on.

The Princeton Review rated 534 colleges that will be featured in its Best 366 Colleges and Complete College Handbook. Each school was rated on a scale of 66 to 99 based upon:

• Whether students have a campus that is both healthy and sustainable

• Whether a school’s policies are environmentally responsible

• How students are being prepared not only for future employment, but also for dealing with environmental challenges

The decision to implement a “green ratings” system came from The Princeton Review’s annual “College Hopes and Worries” survey. Over 10,300 students and parents completed the survey, which revealed that 63 percent would consider attending a college that showed a commitment to the environment.

A non-profit environmental research organization, ecoAmerica, developed the survey that included 28 questions pertaining to recycling, transportation alternatives, food sources and other sustainability methods.

“Forward-looking colleges and universities know that policies are good for the environment and are also good for students,” said Lee Bodner, executive director ecoAmerica, in a statement. “The Princeton Review’s Green Ratings help students and parents find these schools which offer a great quality of life and prepare students for successful and fulfilling careers in the 21st Century green economy.”

The Review listed 11 schools on its green honor roll. Among them:

Arizona State University at Tempe — cited because it sustainability considerations underlie its educational goals and business and research practice. ASU also created a School of Sustainability with dozens of cross-disciplinary study options.

College of the Atlantic — because it was created to teach harmonious existence with nature and can now boast that it is carbon neutral with emissions reduced or offset to “net zero”.

Harvard College — because it has the largest green campus organization anywhere with 24 full time staff and 32 part time students working to green all areas of the campus. It also offers a loan program to anyone with a green concept with a payback within 10 years, an initiative that has resulted in improved lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation systems.

For more information on green ratings, and to see the rest of the honor roll visit The Princeton Review’s website.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media