Solar Decathlon Team Leaders Celebrate UA’s Success
As the Solar Decathlon winds down, UA students can now celebrate a successful competition, which has garnered the team praise from thousands of visitors and national recognition.

By Johnny Cruz, University Communications
Oct. 17, 2009


As the Solar Decathlon winds down, University of Arizona students can now celebrate a successful competition, which has garnered the team national recognition.

Every step in the development of the house assembled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. – including the design, fabrication, testing and installation – was handled by UA students.

The two-year process has culminated in an experience where team members have been able to interact with thousands of visitors, along with industry professionals, reporters and future colleagues.

The team's principal investigators agree that the students' Washington experience is a well-deserved reward for their innovation and tireless work.

"It's really exciting for them, getting this interaction with the public," said Matt Gindlesbarger, principal investigator and project manager for the UA Solar Decathlon team. I've been able to see a real transformation in them as architecture students. They are not trained as builders, and they are not trained as fabricators."

Gindlesbarger emphasized that the students did not purchase windows, doors and other fixtures, but instead designed, built and assembled them. "Because of the nature of the project we forced this on them a little bit."

"During the summer they had to walk on the roof to put solar cells on when it was 100 degrees outside," said Joseph H. Simmons, co-principal investigator and co-director of the UA's Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy.

Simmons is gratified that students have been rewarded by getting exposure to professional opportunities they otherwise may not had access to at this stage in their careers.

Solar Decathlon teams were charged with designing, building and operating the most attractive, effective and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The houses also are intended to serve as a demonstration project for the public, whom where invited to observe the combination of solar energy, energy efficiency and the best in home design.

While the feature that has received the most attention is the water wall, a plastic water-filled Trombe wall that forms a solar thermal collector, Larry Medlin – co-principal investigator, UA professor of architecture and an advisor to the team – said that comfort and adaptability are two of the home's greatest qualities.

"It really reacts to our diurnal cycles of our Arizona climate," Medlin said. "The space is designed to be adaptable space and to encourage indoor-outdoor living."

Within a span of four days, the weather from Washington, D.C. went from sunny to overcast to cold and rainy – and the UA Solar Decathlon house still provided a welcoming environment for its visitors.

One of the more memorable aspects of the competition for team members was the opportunity to host opponents at the UA house for a movie night.

But what is a movie night without popcorn?

In keeping with the theme of the competition, a solar-powered popcorn popper was installed on the patio of the UA house.

It is comprised of three Mylar discs, which capture sunlight and direct energy up to a kettle. "A few minutes later you get the smell and sound (of popcorn)," Gindlesbarger said.

The UA Solar Decathlon team will begin tearing down their house on Sunday afternoon, bringing to conclusion an effort that has taken two years to come to fruition.

"They now have a very clear understanding on what it takes to put a building together," Gindlesbarger said. "Every frustrating aspect of it; every glamorous aspect of it. It's been a long time coming. It was two years that I was working on the proposal for us to come here, and it now seems like not long ago." 

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