2009 Solar Decathlon
The Solar Decathlon brings student teams from universities across the world to compete in designing, building and operating highly energy-efficient, completely solar-powered houses. The teams will assemble their homes on the National Mall in front of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. and open them to the public in September of 2009.
For more information about involvement in the Solar Decathlon student group or project, contact Ann Johnson, Director of the Construction Management program at johns421@umn.edu or 625-7669.
There are several opportunities for University of Minnesota students to get involved. A Solar Decathlon student group will be formed soon to support and work on the project. In addition, several courses will be offered during this spring semester to provide input into the mechanical, electrical, and architectural design of the house. Those courses include
• ARCH 4150/5550 Topics in Technology: available for both graduate and undergraduate students in all areas wishing to participate in the Solar Decathlon architectural design process.
• ARCH 8563 Energy and Indoor Environmental Quality Issues in Sustainable Design: available to graduate students in architecture.
• ME 5312 Solar Thermal Technologies: available to upper division and graduate students across campus who have completed an introductory course in thermodynamics and heat transfer. The course will cover the fundamentals of solar thermal design and will include a design project on the Decathlon.
Students wishing to register for these courses can do so by normal process, or by contacting the instructor directly.