BY Neil B. McGahee
In a vacant lot behind the Institute of Paper Science building on 14th Street, a half dozen or so Georgia Tech students labor under a hot July sun they hope to put to work for them. They are constructing the Institute's Solar Decathlon entry.
"We have the floor installed and when the framing is complete, we can install the walls, windows and roof," said architecture professor and project adviser Franca Trubiano.
The Tech team is pitted against 19 schools from the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Spain to design and build the most innovative and energy-efficient solar-powered home possible. Students from the Colleges of Architecture, Engineering, Management and Sciences spent last fall and spring semesters designing an 800-square-foot house that incorporates advanced building technologies — translucent walls, structural insulated panels, solar-heated floors, fiber-optic cables, solar collectors and photovoltaic power systems.
"Some walls are made of aerogel insulation, a translucent silica and air material, sandwiched between polycarbonate panels while other walls are made of structurally insulated polystyrene," Trubiano said. "The roof, a plastic membrane made from ethylene tetra-fluoroethylene that weighs only 100th of an equal amount of glass, was manufactured in Germany. Both products allow transmission of natural light throughout the interior of the home while keeping the elements out."
Alstan Jakubiec, a third-year architecture student whose contribution so far has consisted of working on the roof design team, said, "It feels good to finally get my hands dirty. I've never really done any construction. There's a huge difference between drawing in a studio and actually building something."
As the exterior takes shape, Jason Brown, a doctoral student in the building technology program, tests the ventilation, plumbing and power systems for reliability and efficiency.
"In this competition, optimizing energy use yields maximum points," he said. "For instance, the judges check the ventilation system every 15 minutes to see if the interior temperature remains a constant 72 to 76 degrees."
Architecture professor Chris Jarrett said team members won't live in the house, but reliable performance in daily chores, including dishwashing, cooking and using communication outlets, is a major factor in the judging.
Funding has proven to be an obstacle.
Every Solar Decathlon team received $100,000 from the Department of Energy to cover startup costs. Extra funds to cover research, design, materials and construction costs must be raised by the school.
"We need partners to help underwrite this project," Jarrett said. "Investment now strengthens the chances for future collaboration between the four colleges."
Several Tech alumni have contributed technical support. From the first day of construction in early June, former Alumni Association president Dave McKenney, Phys 60, IE 64, and his son, John, IE 90, have stationed consultants from their engineering firm on the site, while Brent Reid, CE 02, president of Winter Construction, routinely assigns several employees to give hands-on instruction.
"We have experienced several challenges requiring practical or technical advice," Trubiano said. "And they were there with the solution right away."
In late September, the house will be trucked to Washington, D.C., and assembled with the other entries in a solar village on the National Mall for judging on Oct. 12. Projects are evaluated in 10 categories including architecture, engineering, livability, comfort, power generation for heating and cooling, water heating and power for lights and appliances. In addition, each entry must be able to power an electric car. The winner will be announced Oct. 19.
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