BY Neil B. McGahee
Measuring a mere 800 square feet, the house under construction at Hemphill Avenue and 14th Street may seem tiny compared to the multistory classroom buildings nearby, but the little house has capital designs.
Georgia Tech was one of 20 universities selected in February 2006 by the U.S. Department of Energy to compete in Solar Decathlon 2007. An interdisciplinary team of 83 students from the College of Architecture, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Biology and the Institute for Sustainable Technology and Development are designing an energy-efficient dwelling that will provide enough electricity to meet the needs of an urban family using only solar power.
Once completed the house will be disassembled, transported to Washington, D.C., and reassembled on the National Mall on Oct. 12. Entries will be judged in 10 categories including architecture, engineering, livability and comfort and power generation for heating and cooling, water heating and lights and appliances. Each house must also produce enough extra energy to power an electric car.
Chris Jarrett, an architecture professor and the assistant project director, said the finished product will utilize advanced eco-products including translucent polycarbonate walls for day lighting and structural insulated panels made of Styrofoam and gel to provide insulation.
"Forty photovoltaic batteries will provide electricity for appliances," he said. "Although no one will actually live in the house, the team will be assigned a series of competitions such as washing dishes and cooking meals and using communication outlets to educate the public about design, energy efficiency and solar energy."
The Department of Energy awarded each participating team $100,000 — about one-third of the total cost — with the participants responsible for raising the remaining money needed for the project and competition.
"Raising the rest of the money has been challenging. We're about 60 percent there," Jarrett said. "Dean Galloway was very involved in the fundraising and his untimely death was a setback."
Galloway died of a sudden heart attack March 11.
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