During a field trip to Washington, D.C. in October 2009, Ken Hite, an electrical engineering major at West Virginia University from Summit Point, W.Va., “stumbled upon” an event that would change the direction of his life.
“We got off the Metro at the National Mall and I noticed a bunch of houses sitting there,” Hite said. “I saw a sign that read ‘Solar Decathlon.’”
Hite didn’t get a chance to look at the houses; they were locked at the time. A call back home to his father provided additional details on the U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored project. Based on further research, Hite came to one conclusion: “We should do this for our senior design project.”
Fast forward two years and Hite, along with nearly 300 students from across the University, is working diligently to complete a proposal in hopes of earning a slot in the 2013 Solar Decathlon, an event in which student teams design, build and operate an attractive, energy-efficient solar-powered house and display it during a week-long competition.
“The students started working on this more than a year ago and I got involved because of my work in energy-related research,” said Dimitris Korakakis, associate professor in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. “Our short-term goal is to make the competition. But our long-term goal is to strive to make this a WVU campus-wide project.”
To that end, Korakakis said the students have garnered interest and feedback from their counterparts in a number of colleges, including the College of Creative Arts; the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design; and the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism.
“We’re reaching out to the freshman and sophomore class so we can teach them what we know because we may not be here to actually compete in the competition,” said Brian Neff, a senior engineering student from Philippi, W.Va. “Most of us are seniors and will be graduating this spring. We’re very passionate about ensuring this project continues, with or without us.
“We need help from the entire university,” Neff said. “We are recruiting students to help with publicity, to edit our proposal, to design the interior of the house, etc. We’re engineering students; we probably won’t be very good at color coordinating the furniture with the window curtains.”
With various students from multi-disciplines throughout WVU onboard, the team worked with the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources to create three courses that are being offered this fall, which allow students to receive credit for participating in the project. According to Neff, other colleges are coordinating with their academic affairs offices to create similar courses within their departments.
This competition is a tremendous undertaking, but the real feat lies in the team’s design plan, which is intended to be feasible for the average West Virginia homeowner. While several top universities surrounding WVU have previously competed, this will be WVU’s first attempt.
“The biggest thing that sets us apart from our competition is the design, which will remain a secret until we know if we earned a slot in the competition,” said Neff. “We hope to show the public that our house is not only practical and native to the state but it can be built entirely from regional resources.”
The DoE first challenged collegiate teams around the world to compete in the Solar Decathlon back in 2002. To win, the teams had to enter their solar-powered homes in 10 contests, which included aspects of affordability, consumer appeal and design with an emphasis on optimal energy production and maximizing efficiency of their homes.
While the WVU team ultimately hopes to enter the 2013 competition, they have ulterior goals as well.
“We want to educate the Appalachian public about cost-effective homes, renewable energy sources and construction,” said Neff. “With or without the competition, we still intend to design and build an affordable solar house that is native to the Appalachian region and includes solar panels and smart home technology. Our prototype will be used for state and regional educational purposes.”
The team’s proposal must be submitted by November to determine competition eligibility. But even though the results won’t be released until March, the team will be engrossed in their work, as their choice to build the house regardless of earning a slot in the competition has the entire university waiting in anticipation.
-WVU-
dar/09/22/11
CONTACT: Mary C. Dillon; College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
304.293.4086; mary.dillon@mail.wvu.edu
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