While Colorado has been focused on the Rockies and their near-miraculous ascent to the World Series, another kind of competition is absorbing the hearts and minds of 36 students from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The students make up a team that’s going for its third consecutive win at the Solar Decathlon, an international collegiate competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. The competition involves 20 teams from across the U.S., Canada and Europe that compete to design, build and operate energy-efficient, solar- powered houses on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Chad Corbin, CU’s Solar Decathlon team leader, says the students from CU’s colleges of engineering, architecture, business, and arts and sciences began designing their solar house 16 months ago. Working largely without college credit, they have designed and built a 2,100-square-foot house that was pre-purchased by Xcel Energy for eventual use as a public education facility.
Earlier this month, the team disassembled a 700- square-foot portion of the house, packed it, and shipped it off to D.C. There, they have reassembled it on the Mall, working alongside teams from Canada, Spain, Puerto Rico, Germany, MIT, Georgia Tech and other major U.S. universities.
At 30, Corbin is older than most of the students on the CU team. He says, “I have a degree in mechanical engineering and was out of school and working for almost seven years before I decided to come back for a degree where I could make a difference.” He decided to seek a master’s degree in building systems at CU, he says, in part because of the university’s involvement in the Solar Decathlon.
Corbin admits that altruism drives him and the team. “We’re all very committed to solving the nation’s energy problems in a way that has the least impact on the environment,” he says. “The U.S. should lead the world in energy efficiency.” With their cutting-edge house, the CU Solar Decathlon team hopes to help show the way.
Designing and building the house as an extracurricular activity hasn’t been easy on top of master’s-level class work, Corbin admits. “But it’s very exciting,” he says. The Decathlon gives him real-world experience, while also stretching his creativity and adding to his understanding of new materials and the latest technologies.
For example, the CU house will include not only a 9-kilowatt array of solar panels, it also will feature an integrated solar thermal system. Solar panels that generate all of the house’s electricity also generate “waste heat” that will produce hot water, and heat — and cool — the building.
Twenty-five CU students traveled to D.C. and were there for the 10 days it took to assemble the house, “working pretty much 24/7,” Corbin says. That is followed by nine days of intense competition and public tours that attracted more than 100,000 people in 2005, the last time the Solar Decathlon was held.
During the competition, the teams are judged on the architecture, engineering, lighting, energy balance and market viability of their houses, how well they communicate the houses’ special features to the public, and how comfortable the houses would be to live in. They must cook meals, operate dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, TV/video players and computers, and also charge and drive a small electric vehicle as many miles as possible. “It’s pretty challenging,” Corbin says.
The Solar Decathlon involves some of the world’s best and brightest college students. CU took first place in the competition in 2002 and 2005. So far this year, the University of Maryland is in first place. The winners will be announced Friday.
Susan Thornton (smthornton@aol.com) served 16 years on the Littleton City Council, including eight years as mayor. Her column appears twice a month.
