DOE Solar Decathlon Net Zero Housing Design Challenge
Problem statement
Imagine a world where the new housing development in your area features all Net-Zero homes due to their benefits and buildability. DOE runs the solar decathlon each year to ensure this world is a possibility by building both a future of net-zero houses and a generation of engineers and architects that are energy conscious. To accomplish this goal, the DOE solar decathlon tasks teams with designing a net-zero house that is “a key ingredient in efforts to cut U.S. energy use and greenhouse gas emissions” while still increasing “comfort… occupant health and productivity…. room for living and working… occupancy rates and resale value” [1]. As a team of mechanical engineers, we will work to reduce energy usage through HVAC design, window placement, wall insulation, and more while supplying energy through onsite renewables. We will also work with a group of architects to ensure that with these changes, the household is still buildable, fits basic needs, and meets the standards of the area. This collaboration will prove that the concept is both approachable and viable to grow the “2,000 net zero homes around the globe (well under 1 per cent of all buildings worldwide)” [2]. Our contribution to the competition as Wisconsin students is especially important because the “103 million Btu of energy (used) per home” is “15% more than the U.S. average” [3]. Through designing this net-zero house for DOE, we will pave the way for all these opportunities while gaining the knowledge we need to become part of a generation that will spread energy awareness.
Team members
Kari Weiss – leader
Klare Hollenkamp – communicator
Morgan Kunz – accountant
Morgan Kunz – admin
Client
US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon