Solar House Team

Top Questions from D.C.

2009-10-15T20:25:41Z

In the spirit of education, I've compiled a list of the top 10 questions we receive during public tours. If we added some new signs, we could probably reduce the amount we have to talk by about 90% or just send the 21 year old team members bar-hopping for the day.

In the spirit of being tired after a few long weeks of work, we've also added the responses we'd like to give to mix things up a bit...

1. What is the wood the cabinets are made out of?
Real Answer: It's actually manufactured from reclaimed sorghum straw and low VOC, no formaldehyde adhesive. It extends our design concept (expanding horizons) because of the long straight lines in the grain, and is a green material from the Midwest as well.
After a Long Day: "It's actually pure magic." We'd offer a longer, more creative explanation, but we'd be hoarse since we get this one from almost everybody.

2. What are those things on the walls?
Real Answer: Those are custom made lighting fixtures that we installed efficient LED lighting in. They're made entirely from recycled steel and glass as well.
After a Long Day: "Take a stab at it...they are plugged in to the wall and giving off a warm, yellowish glow that happens to light up the area..."

3. How do you water the plants?
Real Answer: Our custom automation system (Chameleon) has soil moisture content sensors that it reads. If the soil is to dry, a soaker hose running underneath the plants will turn on and water them until the desired content is reached.
After a Long Day: This one depends. If you just got the 10 minute pitch on the automation system, we're likely to ignore you since we already talked about it. If you skipped the pitch on automation, we're likely to ignore you because you'd know the answer if you had listened. Guess it doesn't really depend.

4. Are these cement countertops?
Real Answer: We chose concrete countertops due to their durability and because it's recyclable. It also helps us to keep the price down as it's cheaper than other common counter materials such as granite.
After a Long Day: That would be awfully tough since cement is just a binding agent. If you mix it with aggregate and water, you get the wonder material that we used.

5. What are the fins on the sides of the house?
Real Answer: They're called louvers, and are rather popular in other countries and on some larger commercial buildings here. Because of the changing angle of the sun through seasons, they block direct sunlight during the summer and allow most to pass during the winter.
After a Long Day: We have to drive our house down the highway to D.C. These are for aerodynamics to make it easier on the truck.

6. Does the drain work?
Real Answer: Yes. The shower area is sloped down to it to make sure we don't have standing water. As it runs the length of the bathroom, it can handle the flow from the shower, and it's slightly dammed as well to keep water from spilling over. We chose this type of drain due to the universal design aspect of the home...anybody can get into the shower.
After a Long Day: No. The company decided to mass market a product that doesn't work and we thought we'd support them because we respected the brash attempt.

7. Why is there a screen behind the mirror?
Real Answer: It is actually an energy saving measure. By getting headlines, weather, sports scores, stocks (et al) through a very low power draw device, you're minimizing the usage of traditional, high power draw devices such as a TVs or computers. Plus, it's awesome.
After a Long Day: Toilet + Shower + TV means all you need is a beer cooler and you'll never have to leave the bathroom. We're only one step away...

8. What are the tubes on the roof?
Real Answer: We generate our electricity through the flat PV panels on the roof. The tubes allow us to heat water without using our electricity, which is far more efficient. There is a copper tube that goes into the manifold at the top, which in turn heats a closed loop of a hydroglycolic mixture. That in turn radiates up and heats the domestic hot water for the home, and the water used for our hydronic radiant floor system.
After a Long Day; They're huge Pixie Sticks. Go try to eat one.

Okay, so it's not quite the top 10 list I promised, but it's been a long day ;-).

In all seriousness though, we actually like answering questions. We've worked on the project for the past two years to raise public awareness and because we love the idea behind it. Keep asking questions, and we promise to give you the real answer (though you may have to sit through the others first).

-Bryan

Tours Continue / Rubbing Elbows with the Big Wigs

2009-10-13T00:23:41Z

Public tours continued today, and everything seems to be going well. The Universal Design component of the house continues to be noticed.

In addition to working hard, the team got the opportunity to interact with former school Alumni. Several area alumni attended for VIP tours and a nice dinner afterward. Some even flew in town to join.

Even the Chancellor came out to show his support for the project and give an update on the status of S&T.

Oh, and there's a people's choice award with text message voting up and running. To vote for us, text House32 to 99503. A listing of the other teams and their house numbers can be found on the Solar Decathlon website (www.solardecathlon.org).

Let the Games Begin

2009-10-08T12:36:11Z

After a week of late nights and sleep deprivation, the house is complete! The Show-Me Solar team was the 9th to pass its final inspections last evening, and started a mad dash to beautify the house (we'd never seen so many college students cleaning at once before).

The day wasn't without difficulties however. After finalizing code and running tests, the automation team encountered several problems. One of the Pico computers crashed, a CF card went bad, the lighting system went down, a few sensors went bad, and without warning, the primary controller that the team had been using for the past year blew out. The team managed to get everything rerouted to the secondary controller and recompiled the code just before the 10:00pm deadline. The broken sensors and parts were replaced just in time as well.

And so that everybody can see how awesome we are, a few pictures...

Tied In

2009-10-06T14:26:26Z

As of late last evening, the team is grid tied on the National Mall. Passing inspections early allowed us to grid tie about 12 hours ahead of schedule, and also earned us a 29 kWh bonus for pre-competition metering.

A few things went haywire after being tied in, but everything seems to be under control now. In an effort to conserve energy, the night team will now be working days and taking advantage of natural light (which they haven't seen in quite some time).

As things come down to the wire, it looks like the team is in good shape. Maintaining an internet connection remains one of our bigger problems...so stay tuned for another post at a random time when we have one.

First Update from DC

2009-10-04T21:58:30Z

We've arrived. The team actually made it into Washington DC last week, but we've had limited internet access thus far.

After some minor vehicle troubles, our caravan of vehicles arrived on the National Mall. Our house was actually the first to arrive, and we were the first to have our crane up as well. Things are progressing on schedule.

If everything continues to go as planned, we'll have internet on site in the next few days. At that point, you can expect daily updates and pictures as well.

-Bryan

The House is On its Way!

2009-09-28T18:11:25Z

There were a few hickups as the team was preparing for the house to ship, but it finally got on the road, on its way to DC. We had to do some redesign for the pick points on Tuesday afternoon so that we could fold down our roof. Wednesday the roof was down just before the rain hit.
That left us all day Wednesday to move our house out into the street for the semi to drive underneath. The good news was we had all day, the bad news was that it rained, all day long. we were hoping it would let up around 2 so we started then but the rain still persisted. We worked till late hours to get our house out into the street.

Friday morning at 6:45 I got a call from the truck driver wanting to know the specifics of where to go for our load. The driver was an hour early but that was ok by us. We spent all day lifting the house, then strapping it down, shrink wrapping it and putting a few tarps on it.
The hectic part of it was that the trailer we received was a foot higher than the one speced out on the bid. So we had to do some creative driving and moving of communication lines to get our house out of Rolla. In addition, Friday night the sun was setting fast so we had to postpone it till Saturday morning. So Saturday morning there was one car left in the way before the house could be on its way, so we had to get it towed. A bit after 9:30 the house was gone and everyone rejoiced.

Now we are finishing up loose ends and cleaning up our site. Next time we see the house hopefully it will be in one piece on the national mall!

Luke Sudkamp

Friday's Sucess!

2009-06-29T12:47:51Z

Friday was a very early day for those in Rolla. We started construction at 5 in the morning so we could get some of the siding on the house. I don't want to say anything terrible, but I don't think the siding matches the look we were trying to go for. But what can I say... I am not an architect.

Everything started out well until it started raining about 7 a.m. We hurried to get most of the tools safe in the trailer or house, and in the process Dominic got a little shock... but is OK. Thank goodness the rain only lasted about 15 minutes. After the rain we were able to get back to putting the siding on the house.

At around 8 a.m., Missouri Builders Service, Inc. arrived and began installing the roof. Yes, we do have a roof finally. I am glad everyone on the site was wearing their hardhats, because the roofers were tearing up the roof felt and just dropping it off the sides of the roof. They worked hard all day and were finished by 12:30.

After lunch, we decided to try and make a temporary tent over the area we were going to be working at. We used a tarp, the side of the house, and two ladders. It kind of worked, but there wasn't much of a breeze, so it was still pretty hot. The team worked until about 4:30. Although we didn't finish the siding, we did get a lot of it done. We would have gone a little further, but we ran out of nails and decided to call it a day.

I want to thank everyone who was out there on Friday for all of their hard work and dedication.

-Amber Gomaz

We Have Windows and Drywall

2009-04-30T21:03:25Z

Exciting news, yesterday we got all of our windows delivered from Quaker. They came in around 1pm when Cory and I unloaded them and brought them into the bedroom for storage. We received a total of 34 windows and they all look great. You are probably wondering, wow that is a lot of windows, and you are right! we have 16 ribbon windows going along the top of the north wall and 16 more along the south, plus two kitchen windows. Take a look at our renderings at our website www.solarhouse.mst.edu.

Also we got our drywall delivered today thanks the the generous donation of USG. The delivery truck from River City Materials came around 3pm and unloaded it all in one load to the front of our house. It was wrapped up before delivery, but we made sure to put a tarp on it just in case. So if you are looking at our webcams the big blue object in front is the drywall.

I want to thank Quaker and USG for their generous support of our project!

Luke

The Weekend(ish) Update

2009-04-17T13:41:19Z

Friday
With the portions of the soffit above the mechanical closet and in the bedroom complete, the team continued work on the remaining interior wall and sections of the soffit. A group completed framing and placing the last interior wall. Meanwhile, others kept working on the kitchen soffit. The entire soffit along the north wall was completely attached and the western portion was framed out. The day ended when we ran out of wood for the cross members to attached the western soffit to the wall.

Saturday
Saturday morning began with a trip to the hardware store for wood. During the day, the team cut all cross members for the western wall and installed the framed soffit. The only major problem posed difficulties placing the soffit into the northwest corner were the soffit makes and L shape. Upon completion, the members working combined their resources to frame out the ceiling above the bathroom. This completion marks the end or major framing to the inside of the house.

Tuesday
Tuesday was brief with the most notable work being the complete framing of the chimney box that will house plumbing exhaust and water supply to and from the evacuated tubes on the roof. Other work was some minor touch-ups to the weekend framing.

-David

Weekend Construction Update

2009-04-14T07:47:08Z

Hope everyone had a good Easter weekend. Over the weekend, the team worked on constructing the interior soffit walls as well as the bathroom wall. On Friday they finished the entire north soffit as well as the bathroom header. On Saturday, the rest of the soffit on the west wall was finished. Considerable effort was exerted in order to join the north soffit with the west soffit at the corner. The team was forced to come up with some ingenious, on the spot solutions to make it work. The rest of the bathroom wall was finished and the joists for the bathroom wall were finished too on Saturday.

I would like to thank all the hard work put in by the members who stayed down and worked this weekend. The job you did was outstanding and you accomplished a lot.

-Adam

Safety First

2009-04-07T19:15:51Z

On Saturday, April 4th, 9 members of the team headed to Columbus, Kansas, to be trained by Doug Westervelt of Crossland Construction Company for their 10-hour OSHA certification. The team members gathered in the middle of the night to make the long drive to an early workshop. The intention was to have enough people trained that there would always be at least one individual which OSHA training on the worksite to oversee safety. These individuals will help to maintain a safe working environment while minimizing hazards that may arise.

I want to thank those who volunteered time to be trained in safety awareness and the individuals of Crossland Construction Company that agreed to train us.

Dominic Clucas

Student Safety Officer

The Work Continues

2009-04-05T20:25:05Z

Construction on the 09 house resumed earlier this week. It may have been hard to follow on the webcams because we've been doing some work on the inside. The soffit and interior walls are coming along quite nicely.

You may also have seen us unloading our recycled siding for the outside of the house. We'll make an update when we know what day we will begin installing it.

For those of you who missed the construction thus far (or didn't sit at your computer and watch for several days straight), I encourage you to check out the newly posted time lapses. We'll post more as work continues.

-Bryan

Much Deserved Break

2009-03-23T20:47:09Z

If you've been following the webcams, you may have noticed that the SIP installation was completed last week. Construction wrap and temporary doors were put up to protect the house from the elements while the team takes a much deserved Spring Break. Work will resume upon our return to the S&T campus.

-Bryan

Walls go up smoothly

2009-03-18T01:25:41Z

Sip Installation - Amber Gomaz

The first day of SIP installation went pretty well. Nothing went wrong except for at the very beginning. Thermocore was unloading the panels when all of the sudden the boom truck transferring the panels to the ground almost tipped over. Thankfully no one was injured and no damage was done to the panels. We also got our hinges, but unfortunately they were not what we had specified. Hopefully we can get that situated so that we can install them into the roof.

]]> It was not a bad experience working with the Thermocore men. They knew exactly what they were doing so the installation went pretty fast. Luke told all of the men that they needed to wear the hardhats we were providing , and a couple of the men thought he was joking, but if you were watching the live feed then you noticed that everyone was wearing hard hats.

There were quite a few people from the team at the work site today, so there were not many jobs to do. Adam Smith jumped right in with Thermocore and helped align the panels. You could tell that he had definitely done this before. The rest of us just stayed on the sidelines watching the installation. After about 2:00, we were able to get more involved, because all of walls were in place. As Thermocore was placing part of the roof pieces, a few of us were cutting boards for the inside wall of the bathroom.

For this being the first day of installation, everything went smoothly. There were not any problems that arose except for when the boom truck tipped a little and the hinges not being exactly what we wanted. I do not believe there will be any major difficulties tomorrow. The roof panels are being installed, but without the hinges for now.

Special thanks to Thermocore of Missouri (http://www.thermocore.com/) and all of their people for working with us to get the exterior walls designed a built.

Surprise

2009-03-17T13:37:45Z

Check out the webcams today. There is a surprise there that we think you'll like. :-)