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2011 ‘Solar Decathlon’ building, materials innovation contest names student teams
2009 University of Kentucky Solar Decathlon entry
The DOE just release the names of the 20 teams (some from multiple schools) who will be competing in next year’s Solar Decathlon that will take place in Washington, D.C., in the fall 2011. Every two year, selected teams get an opportunity display some remarkable approaches to energy-efficient construction, appliances and use of novel materials. Aerogel insulation, for example, was big in 2009.
The 20 were selected from a pool of U.S. and international applicants that were evaluated by a panel of engineers, scientists, and experts from DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Teams were required to meet specific criteria to demonstrate their viability, including their ability to design and build an innovative, entirely solar-powered house, to raise additional funds, to support the project through a well-integrated curriculum, and to assemble a team necessary to carry the project through to completion. A panel of professionals from American Institute of Architects, National Association of Home Builders, the U.S. Green Building Council, building industry media, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers evaluated conceptual designs from prospective teams. The results of their evaluations, combined with scores based on the four criteria listed above, determined the 2011 Solar Decathlon teams.
The teams are
- Appalachian State University
- The Research Foundation of CUNY
- Florida State University, The University of Central Florida, The University of Florida, and The University of South Florida
- Stevens Institute of Technology and The New School
- Ghent University
- Tongji University
- Massachusetts College of Art and Design and University of Massachusetts at Lowell- Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts
- Rutgers the State University of New Jersey and New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Middlebury College
- Florida International University
- The Ohio State University
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Old Dominion University and Hampton University
- University of Maryland
- Purdue University
- University of Calgary
- The University of Tennessee
- University of Hawaii
- The Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology
- Victoria University of Wellington
The DOE has also launched a new Solar Decathlon blog and has a gallery of photos of the 2009 entries here that really do a good job showing the stylish efforts.
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Video of the week: aerogel insulation hits housing market
GreenTech reported that some aerogel companies are offering thin blankets that serve as replacements for traditional fiberglass, foam or cellulose insulation. It’s still more expensive upfront but the costs have fallen to the point that it can make sense in certain cases, particularly masonry or curved walls. The video posted above shows aerogel insulation over bent tubing.
Aerogels are made by removing the liquid from gels, resulting in a material that is more than 90 percent air. The porous structure of the nanomaterial makes it difficult for heat to pass through. As a result, aerogels make very good and light-weight insulators.
Aspen Aerogels says that its aerogel blankets have two to four times the insulating value per inch compared to fiberglass or foam. It’s also relatively easy to work with, allows water vapor to pass through and is fire resistant.
Material company Cabot has also developed its Nanogel insulator for buildings. Another company, ThermaBlok, has had its insulation used in demonstration houses built during last year’s Solar Decathlon home competition.
Contractors have started using the material on superinsulated homes that are sealed from the outside, both over masonry and under shingles. On wood frame homes, thin strips of aerogel can be applied to studs to prevent what’s called thermal bridging, where heat escapes through the walls’ framing.
Aspen provides this chart for for the R-value-philes (Spaceloft being Aspen’s brand name for their building insulation aerogel):
Read more about aerogel:
Aerogel markets report available
Aerogel-based -40°C hydration system to be licensed
Solar Decathlon entries make use of aerogel
Aeroclay research at Case Western
NASA’s aerogel grid captures amino acid in space
Cabot”s Nanogel aerogel insulation selected for 50 km of subsea pipelines
Artistic aerogel light demonstrations
Aerogel used in classic car remake
Aerogel’s potential to mop up oil spills
Aerogel has potential as tunable waveplate
Universe’s largest catcher’s mitt?
Birdair demonstrates aerogel membrane roofing systems
Nanotube aerogel sheets - better than real muscle?
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