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21 June 2003
TOOL
DAY at the
Center for Maximum
Potential Building Systems / University of Texas School
of Architecture
SOLAR
DECATHLON HOUSE
A
Vital Signs Tool day was scheduled for Saturday, 21 June
2003 at the Center For Maximum Potential Building Systems
(CMPBS) in Austin, Texas. This Tool Day allowed
participants to become familiar with the Solar Decathlon
House and gain hands-on experience measuring aspects of
its performance such as photovoltaic power, ice battery
cooling, daylighting, thermal comfort, visual comfort,
and air movement.
The
Solar Decathlon House was part of a national forum for
competition among student teams, each of which designed,
built, and operated an 800-square-foot, totally
solar-powered home with a home office (including the
transportation needs of the home and office). Michael
Garrison from the School of Architecture at the
University of Texas and Pliny Fisk from CMPBS directed
the Solar Decathlon Project.
The
Decathlon was sponsored by the US Department of Energy,
with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the
American Institute of Architects, EDS, Home Depot, and BP
Solar. The competition focused on solar photovoltaic
energy production, energy- efficiency, design with
climate, thermal comfort, refrigeration efficiency,
lighting efficiency, sustainable building materials, the
operation of a home office, and transportation needs
using a solar charged electric vehicle.
The UTSOA/CMPBS design
features a flexible, modular, reusable kit of parts that
sits lightly on the land and forms the superstructure
around a mobile utility environment. The “open
systems” design was intended to show how a mobile
environment could be expanded and adapted to a specific
site and then modified for the needs of a different site
in another climatic zone.
Society of Building
Science Educators (SBSE) members, American Solar Energy
Society (ASES) members, university students, and
professional architects and engineers are encouraged to
participate in this third annual Tool Day held in
conjunction with the ASES annual conference.
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