Three Midwest Solar Competitors

Three Midwest schools find ways to tap into the sun’s energy.

by Jason Aldag
American University Interactive Journalism Program
Fall 2007

Photo by Jason Aldag
Benjamin Barnes, a graduate student at the
University of Illinois, explains why it’s
important for the “Element House” to
fit in with today’s neighborhoods.

Washington, D.C. - Every two years since 2002, twenty universities from the United States and abroad compete on the National Mall in Washington D.C., in a contest to determine who can build the better solar house. With global warming on the tip of every one’s tongue, these students are actively working on solutions to create a more livable world.

The flowers Melody Jacobson waters give off an intensity that rivals the source. At the solar home designed by the University of Kansas, prairie grass and flowers sit underneath the massive solar array that sits at a 64 degree angle, perfect for Kansas winters. The design of the home began two years ago and the pride the students show is testimony to the challenges of this contest. Melody Jacobson was in charge of bathroom design. She incorporated recycled glass for the counter tops and opaque walls to let light into the bathroom with out having to turn on a light inside. “Just about everything you see was made by students,” Jacobson said.

Photo by Jason Aldag
Melody Jacobson, a graduate student
at the University of Kansas, describes
how students made many of the fixtures
and cabinets in the home.

There’s lot of fantastical architecture on display with plants growing on exterior walls and roofs angled to let the solar panels take advantage of the sun’s rays. It’s a futuristic landscape pulled from the pages of an Isaac Asimov novel. But the design of the University of Illinois ‘Element House’ is aimed at the consumer of today. Benjamin Barnes, a graduate student, explains the plan to make the house fit in with today’s neighborhood. “We tried to keep it to a house that people could feel they could live in,” Barnes said. “We’ve got a lot if comments from people touring the house that they feel that this house isn’t too modern , not too out of the norm. They can see this in their neighborhood,” he said.

With size limited to approximately 800 square feet, designers were challenged to incorporate living and technology space into a home that was architecturally pleasing inside and out. The University of Missouri-Rolla created a home that would literally open up to the outside. The front door has been replaced with a front wall that retracts to open the kitchen and living area to the outside. It also gives the feeling of openness that would otherwise be difficult with the footage restrictions. Samantha Markus is a sophomore at the school. She was the safety officer making sure the job was done the right way and “not the quick way.” “Very little was contracted out. We built the house over two years with twenty to twenty-five students,” Markus said.

Photo by Jason Aldag
University of Missouri-Rolla’s
entry into the 2007 Solar Decathlon.

With the strong showing from this years contestants and the price of solar decreasing, the future of solar technology looks bright indeed.

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