Students compete in solar decathlon

In the next 10 to 15 years, leading energy-efficient homes could be inspired by designs created by UCF students.

For the past two years, UCF students and graduates have been designing and building an affordable, solar-powered home to compete in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon.

UCF students are a part of Team Florida, which also consists of the University of South Florida, Florida State University and the University of Florida. According to DOE's website, Team Florida is competing with 20 other teams from around the country and the world to create a house that meets these criteria:

-Is affordable, attractive and easy to live in.

-Maintains comfortable and healthy indoor environmental conditions.

-Supplies energy to household appliances for cooking, cleaning and entertainment.

-Provides adequate hot water.

-Produces as much or more energy than it consumes.

Besides meeting these criteria, the teams are also required to compete in 10 contests, worth 100 points each, for a total completion of 1,000 points. The contests are based on individual aspects of the project such as architecture, market appeal and energy appeal.

Thomas Welch, the press officer for the U.S. Department of Energy, says the decathlon serves several purposes such as: demonstrating to the public the opportunities presented by affordable homes that combine energy-efficient construction and appliances with renewable energy systems that are available today; providing student participants with unique training to help fill jobs in our nation's clean-energy economy; fostering collaboration among students from different academic disciplines, including engineering and architecture students, who otherwise may not work together until they enter the workplace; and promote an integrated, or "whole building design," approach to new construction, which differs from the traditional design/build process because the team considers the interactions of all building components and systems to create a more comfortable building, save energy and reduce environmental impact

Mike Flynn is one of the UCF graduates who is a part of Team Florida. He said that earning his bachelor's degree in construction engineering taught him to think systematically, which helped a lot on this project.

Currently, Flynn works at the Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute at UCF. Though he would have liked to work with the civil engineering team of

Team Florida, FSEC was there to provide instrumentation expertise. Flynn said though the team hasn't won yet, making it all the way to Washington, D.C., is definitely a victory for Team Florida.

"Merely by being selected to display our house in Washington, D.C., we have already, in a sense, ‘won' as we have already passed the rigorous design requirements leading up to this point," Flynn said. "We are one team of only 20 teams from around the world that have made it this far in the competition."

Team Florida's entry for the 2011 Solar Decathlon is called the FLeX house, which stands for Florida zero energy prototype. According to their website, www.flexhouse.org, the FLeX house is built for Florida's hot, humid climate and sized for a young couple on moderate income.

Recent houses that have attempted to be energy efficient in Florida's climate have resulted in insulated, conditioned living rooms with no connection to the exterior climate. The FLeX house does just the opposite. It is designed to take advantage of the cooler, milder months and close down to save that energy for when it's needed in the months of temperature extremes.

It's no surprise that the average size of homes in the United States has increased since the 1970s. However, larger homes require more building materials and use more energy. The FLeX house uses a variety of space saving strategies that make the home smaller, but but more functional.

Flynn said one thing that will make FLeX house stand out in the competition is its look and style.

"On one hand, we have a very modern look with glass walls on two sides of the house, giving it a modern and unrestricted feel, with parts of the architecture making it almost feel as if the walls are not there, such as a countertop that runs from the kitchen, seemingly through the wall and outside to the deck," Flynn said.

Flynn said another big difference in the FLeX house is the liquid desiccant system. Liquid desiccant is a chemical that absorbs water vapor out of the air. Team Florida has put a waterfall of this chemical inside an artistic display case in the main living area.

"This allows us to keep the house comfortable using a lot less electricity than a conventional AC would," Flynn said. "This functional part of our environmental control system also serves as a beautiful display piece in the main living area."

The Solar Decathlon will take place on the National Mall of the West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., from Sept. 23 until Oct. 2.

For more information on the FLeX house visit www.flexhouse.org, and for more information on the contest itself visit http://www.solardecathlon.gov/.