University of Maryland is one of 18 teams participating in the Department of Energy's 2005 Solar Decathlon. Maryland's $164,000 house is one story tall and 800 square feet. (Newsline photo by Sunny Desai)

WASHINGTON – The sun had almost set on the house but it was still functioning, powered by stored solar energy and the efforts of students now frantically completing final touches.

Some were inside the house mounting art; others were helping hired contractors fix doors, light fixtures and stair railings.

All were part of the University of Maryland team hurrying to finish the house they started more than two years ago for the Department of Energy’s 2005 Solar Decathlon. The decathlon pits 18 college teams, some arriving from as far away as Spain, against one another in a competition to build the most efficient and attractive house run completely on solar power.

The team has taken work ethic cues from project manager Rob Murray, who graduated from Maryland last December with a degree in civil engineering but deferred his career to remain with the project until fruition.

Project manager Rob Murray

"We definitely had to make some sacrifices,” said Murray. “Being out at the construction site when the semester started, a lot of people had to skip classes for important installations of systems.”

Altogether 125 Maryland students, mostly engineering majors, were involved with the project that began in 2003, said Murray. Most took an engineering class that allowed them to discuss plans for the house, select designs and help build. Others volunteered help with construction, the house architecture and Web site.

Some students worked on the house for eight hours a day at the start of construction in May – which now seems easy compared to the grueling 20 hours a day students put in right before the start of the competition in early October.

Murray concedes the original idea to have students build the entire house was unsuccessful, but adds student involvement was high.

"It's tough to get students, who are in the classroom, out building a house,” said Murray. The project went from being “a student-built house to a student-assisted house,” he said. The students worked as apprentices helping electricians, plumbers and welders, donated by Whiting-Turner, a Baltimore-based construction company. The competition does not restrict teams from hiring outside help.

“I think we got a beautiful house,” said Dr. Kaye L. Brubaker, the team faculty advisor. “Everybody I talk to that comes by says things like, ‘It’s gorgeous, I could live in it.’ ”

The house, said Brubaker, would not have been possible without Murray’s vision and leadership. “He has given it so much,” Brubaker said.

Murray was a member of the 2002 Solar Decathlon team and says he decided to spearhead this project because he believes in alternative, renewable forms of energy. “This is a way to tie in construction engineering with some of the things I believe in,” he said.

He said the contacts and knowledge he has gained are invaluable. “I’ve learned in the past couple of years a lot of what it takes probably five to 10 years for other folks,” he said.

The house will be donated to the nonprofit Red Wiggler Community Farm in Clarksburg, Md., after the competition ends Oct. 16. (Newsline photo by Sunny Desai)

Picking a Design

The team chose to work from an original design submitted by Luming Li, a graduate architecture student at Maryland. Li’s design was one of four finalists forwarded to the students by a panel of faculty members and local professionals – whittled from a field of 13.

The house is one story high and 800 square feet inside. It features one bedroom with a deck outside it;  a living room-kitchen combo; a full bath with a shower stall, and a closet for a washer-dryer. Visitors can reach the living room through a handicapped-accessible ramp or stairs.

The house’s roof is curved and lined with solar panels, designed as a metaphor for the path of the sun across the sky. The structure is elevated, to allow batteries and a water tank to be stored underneath.

“Right from the outset we wanted a more daring vision, and I think we got it,” Brubaker said.

The house must provide all the usual amenities, such as clothes and dish washers. It must have power to run a computer eight hours a day and a television six hours a day.

Students will play host at the house until Oct. 16, while the house is on display on the National Mall near the Washington Monument. Students will demonstrate its ability to cook meals, clean dishes and wash clothes.

Maryland engineering students Johnny Price (left), Mitchell Mendis, Rifat Jafreen and alumnus Rob Murray help carry a couch into the house. (Newsline photo by Sunny Desai)

Pulling It All Together

The house cost about $164,000, all which will be raised by the team. A few individual sponsors gave cash donations, but mostly the team solicited and received construction materials, physical labor and storage space from corporate sponsors and units on campus. The team is still in the red by about $42,000, Murray said.

About a year and a half was devoted to planning, fund raising, marketing and design selection. The house was assembled from May to early October on River Tech Road in Riverdale, Md., on grounds provided by Maryland Facilities Management. It was then transported by truck to the Mall.

The house is capable of generating 8,925 watts of power on a sunny day from its 51 photovoltaic, or solar, panels. That power is stored in the home’s 32 batteries. The house converts this stored energy into 120-volt AC electricity that is used in traditional homes to power appliances and lights.

The house eliminates the need for a water heater by using insulated tubes that are cool on the outside but may reach temperatures as high as 300 degrees Fahrenheit on the inside. These tubes run through the floor of the house and help heat the home.

In addition, the house also uses energy-efficient appliances and environmentally friendly materials, such as piping and foam.

The team used cedar siding, conventional lumber for the walls and concrete for the floor.

Choosing a Winner and Beyond

The electric car will be donated to Maryland Facilities Management after the competition, Brubaker said.

Copyright © 2005 and 2006 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism