U of I Solar House Ready for Competition

For the second time, a team of University of Illinois students is getting ready to take their solar-powered house to Washington D-C, where it will compete in the U-S Energy Department's biennial Solar Decathlon.

An open house on Thursday night served as a housewarming party. Graduate student in architecture Cam Greenlee played "Scotland the Brave" on the bagpipes, as the outdoor LED lights were turned on at the small house that's been dubbed the Gable Home.

With just 560 square feet of living space, the three-room house is small --- cozy, according to one student. Greenlee says the Solar Decathlon rules call for homes of no more than 800 square feet --- and some of that space went for things like the one-foot thick insulation to help insure energy efficiency.

"And so a lot of our design had to do with how do we use the little space that we have very efficiently", explained Greenlee. "And so, even though it's 560 square feet, I think two people could comfortably live in the house."

The south side of the Gable Home's roof is covered entirely in solar panels, the source -- both directly and indirectly --- for all of the home's power. While solar homes in past competitions used batteries at night, new rules at the Solar Decathlon allow the use of electricity from the conventional power grid. However, the house must send at least as much electricity back into the grid as it takes out. U of I Architecture Professor and Project Manager Mark Taylor says the Gable Home does that, and then some.

"If you actually go around to the east side", says Taylor, "you can see our little (electric) meter that you have on a typical house. And it's actually spinning backwards."

The U of I Solar Decathlon Team worked with area firms to build the Gable Home. Springfield-based Lamboo Incorporated developed the treated bamboo used in the home's frame. Goodfield-based Homeway Homes handled the modular construction, leaving it up to the students to design the home's interior and energy system.

Graduate student in architecture Philip Dimick helped design the Gable Home's compact bedroom. Because of the home's small size, Dimick says they used cabinets with sliding doors and wardobes to maximize space. "The challenge of the bedroom was that in order to get all the space we wanted in the main room (a combination kitchen, dining room and living room), we needed to not have a bedroom closet. And so that required the design of the cabinets."

When the U of I first entered the Solar Decathlon in 2007, their entry came in 9th place overall, out of 19 teams. This year, the U of I's Gable Home will be among 20 entries from the U-S, Canada and Europe.

The Gable Home will be transported to Washington D-C, to be set up with 19 other Solar Decathlon entries on the National Mall, October 9th through the 18th. For now, it's on display on the University of Illinois Urbana campus. It's open to the public Saturday and Sunday, September 12th and 13th, from 10 AM until 6 PM.