Houses of the Future

Teams create energy-efficient homes
By Bill Carroll, CSSP Board member
 

Science leads to technology, which leads to products which can transform the way we live. Every two years there is a competition whose goad is exactly that:  to transform the way we live by transforming where we live.

At the December CSSP meeting, Chad Corbin of the University of Colorado and Kim Singleton of the University of Maryland discussed their experiences as members of housebuilding teams in the Solar Decathlon, sponsored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the U.S. Department of Energy. Each team designs, builds and powers a dwelling ultimately suitable for sale in the consumer market.

The decathlon consists of 10 energy-related events ranging from totally powering the house "off the grid" to utilizing any excess to power an electric vehicle. Each program involves upwards of 50 students and faculty and two tough-but-rewarding years of work. Full reports on the houses, the innovations, the designers and the competition can be found on Web sites at  The University of Colorado; The University of Maryland and the Solar Decathlon sponsor site.