Story and photos by Camas Frank ~
Since 2005, a miniature home, complete with most of the fixtures, a deck and some nifty solar technology, has sat unused behind a small staff parking lot at Cal Poly.
The product of the University’s first entry into the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, the project was designed to show just what a crew of multidisciplinary students and some faculty advisors could do on a limited budget.
Now 10-years later, a new group of students is almost done with a much more ambitious, competition entry, a 1,000 square foot home with an outdoor deck that almost doubles the living space and of course, covered by a next-generation solar array.
One of the student project managers, Lisa-Marie Mueller, has been looking forward to the Oct. 8-18 competition in Irvine, Calif. since before she came to Cal Poly.
“The demonstration house from the 2005 project was the reason I applied to Cal Poly,” she said. “Alyssa Parr [the other co-manager] and I approached Sandy [Architecture Prof. Sandra Stannard] almost 3-years ago now. We really believe in sustainability and smart design. That is important living in California, and using the materials wisely. We don’t have an unlimited budget.”
Stannard noted that while 100 students have taken part with different phases of the project, the entire undertaking is a feat of logistics, with six professors teaching tie-in classes for credit, fundraising to make up the balance of costs over the $50,000 initial grant, and of course, securing materials and transportation.
“We’ve had students asking to do it every year but we have to prepare,” said Stannard. “The Decathlon is every two years, so this was our chance, but 10 years might not have been enough.”
The finishing touches are being made on the modular “INhouse” now, so that it can be moved in three pieces and reassembled along with the competitions’ 12 other entries over a 9-day period.
Once it returns, regardless of ranking achieved, the students hope that someone will actually live in it on the Cal Poly Campus.
“That makes me feel good,” said Miguel Diaz, a construction management student who has been working on the home as part of his senior project, as are several others. “We don’t want all this to go to waste.”
Indeed very little about the “INhouse” is wasteful. If the facility can negotiate the right arrangement for a final installation then future students will be able to glean data from the smart-utilities and technology installed in the home. Usage statistics and the effectiveness of software for energy use reminders for residents could be part of a long-term test-bed.
Regardless of where it ends up, the home does integrate solar technology, which serves as a transparent, outdoor sunshade, while absorbing rays from all directions. Aside from being just generally cool, the “bifacial” panels connect the living room area with the outdoors, help keep the southern exposure from the elements and provide energy for the home.
To save some of that energy in heating or cooling cost, a liquid core heat sink above the kitchen absorbs heat during the day and radiates it throughout the home as the temperature cools.
While some of the ideas are cutting edge, civil engineering student Eric Pinuelas notes that, “most of the elements of good design are pretty timeless.”
“I’m not in to big housing tracts,” adds Diaz, “but this is completely mass producible. I think my ideal development though would be for all of the homes assembled in Irvine to be in a community somewhere.”
