Lawrence Tech's solar house's ran a good race as a solar decathlete and now its future as an environmentally friendly educational tool is about to begin in Troy.
The team from Lawrence Technological University is currently taking apart the structure in Washington, D.C., -- where it competed in the Solar Decathlon – and reassembling it at the city of Troy's Community Center on Big Beaver Road near I-75. The Troy Chamber of Commerce bought the 700-square-foot, energy positive house and gave it to the city.
It will be reconstructed near the community center parking lot and playing fields later this fall. Once there it will be used for recreation activities and to educate local residents on available environmentally friendly building techniques and technologies.
"The project will live on as a focal point for renewable energy options," says Eric Pope, a spokesman for Lawrence Tech.
The team of more than 40 Lawrence Tech students called ALOeTERRA (which means to nourish the earth) designed and built the house over the summer. Volunteers from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millrights also lent a hand creating a home that harnesses the sunlight into enough electricity to power the home's utilities (along with some left over for a small electric vehicle).
Team ALOeTERRA purposely used green building techniques and technologies widely available to the public so the house can serve as a showcase on how regular people can conserve energy in housing.
For instance, the primary source of energy for hot water and heating is an array of evacuated tubes. The system can store a day's worth of hot water and pay for itself in energy savings in about two years. All of the home’s electricity is generated by photovoltaic solar panels that cover much of the roof. When sunlight isn’t available, the home’s battery system will meet all the energy needs for things like heating, ventilation and air conditioning. To make the house energy positive, meaning it produces more energy than it consumes, Team ALOeTERRA utilizes a number of energy conservation ideas to control the house's energy appetite.
The house was Lawrence Tech's entry into the Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. It was part of a "solar village" exhibition on the National Mall where more than 100,000 visitors toured it earlier this month. It also competed against a field of 20 universities – including MIT, Carnegie Mellon and Cornell – in this year's decathlon, a prestigious international competition where universities contend to build the most attractive and energy-efficient, solar-powered home. Lawrence Tech was the smallest college in the contest and the only one from Michigan.
A problem with the hot water circulation system took the team out of contention early. It ended up finishing in the bottom of the overall standings. However, the house proved popular with the people who toured it. The house, the only one with a separate second bathroom, was one of the runners-up in the BP People’s Choice Award competition, thanks to an architectural design many found attractive and livable.
“Many people told us that our house was the one they could see themselves living in,” says Christina Span, a ALOeTERRA team member and Lawrence Tech graduate.
Source: Eric Pope, spokesman for Lawrence Technological University
Writer: Jon Zemke