Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
2009 Solar Decathlon
Friday, October 9, 2009
Robert Dunay introduces LUMENHAUS
via TreeHugger
Thanks to David DeFranz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvRnzvnVjMo&feature=player_embedded
LUMENHAUS on EcoHomeMagazine
Virginia Tech’s Lumenhaus
Virginia Tech uses sliding glass walls to expand the living space of its Solar Decathlon 2009 house.
Coolest features: Eclipsis shutter system made from stainless steel and a translucent polycarbonate panel filled with aerogel; bifacial solar panels so reflected sunlight generates additional electricity.
Technology/Product highlights: Radiant heated concrete floors; embedded Led light in shutters; rainwater collection and greywater recycling; and house management interface
From Virginia Tech’s point of view, the relatively small size of the houses in the 2009 Solar Decathlon doesn’t mean they cannot live large. Lumenhaus is an attempt to prove that theory. “We have taken a small space and extended it out,” says Andrew McCoy, associate professor of building construction.
Lumenhaus is all about light, so the students designed a pavilion (a la international-style architect Mies van der Rohe) with sliding north and south glass walls that can be opened up to permit sunlight and cross breezes. The wall also helps “expand the footprint of the house onto the decking and outdoor space,” the school says. McCoy calls it “responsive architecture” because “the house responds to the outside.”
“Responsive architecture features include the ability to operate the heating, cooling, lighting, insulation, and sunshading with a computer or iPhone, which receives environmental condition data from sensors inside the house and a weather station outside the house,” the school says.
The large sliding shutters also help extend the house to the outdoors. Made from laser-cut stainless steel and an insulating translucent polycarbonate panel filled with aerogel, the shutters allow the house to respond to the weather and allow the homeowner to adapt the spaces for entertaining or privacy.
Each circular cutout was precisely numbered and cut based on the angle of the sun, the region, and the amount of light penetration desired. “[A]t different times of day and during different weather conditions, the light varies from subtle dancing shadows created by the circular tabs in the Shading Shutter to full sun exposure when the screens and glass doors are completely open,” says the school.
More than merely a sun shading device, the shutters collect energy during the day and radiate the energy at night to run the low-energy, LED lighting system built into the insulating panels.
Even the photovoltaic system is well thought out. The students selected a roof-mounted installation that features single-crystal silicon wafers set between transparent glass plates. This is a more efficient system, the school says. “Sunlight passes through the panel, is reflected off of the roof, and bounces back up to the back side of the wafer to generate additional electricity,” it explains.
Inside, the house has a concrete floor that acts as a thermal mass. Embedded with pipes for radiant heat, the slab is heated by the sun and hot water piping (via geothermal heating) during the day and radiates that heat throughout the house at night. Other sustainable or recycled-content materials include zinc cladding, wood decking harvested from fast-growing forests, and concrete floors with recycled fly ash.
“Lumenhaus epitomizes a ‘whole building design’ construction approach, in which all the home’s components and systems have been designed to work together to maximize user comfort with environmental protection,” the school says.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
An Illuminating Vision for Pavilion Living: Virginia Tech's LUMENHAUS
An Illuminating Vision for Pavilion Living: VT’s Lumenhaus
October 7th, 2009 · 2 Comments
Imagine the environmentally conscious socialite and their new cottage at the Hamptons. 
That is the feel that Virginia Tech’s Lumenhaus gives in their, quite simply, luminous website and presentation of their entry into the DOE Solar Decathlon, which opens Thursday on the Mall in Washington, DC, and which I had a chance to visit earlier today.
As the name suggests, Lumenhaus is a dwelling playing with light and living off it with extensive windows and both solar photovotaiic (electric) and thermal (hot water) systems.
The Lumenhaus’ system also has two-sided solar panels which seem to be a ‘new’ feature appearing in a number of the homes this year. These Sanyo panels, VT claims, have a 15% performance improvement over single side producing systems.
Control systems that ‘run the house’ automatically, including moving around louvers as the solar angle shifts. (While the owner could override this, the automation is aimed to maximize performance — whether heat gain / retention in winter or minimization / cooling in summer.) This means that the system is constantly monitoring system performance, weather and interior conditions, and weather forecasts to achieve the optimal performance not just for that moment but also for the hours and days to come.
“LUMENHAUS uses technology optimally to make the owner’s life simpler, more energy efficient and less expensive.”
These louvers are quite impressive, with laser cut ‘circles’, all bent to maximize light gain and minimize unwanted heat gain (thus, each of the 1000s of cuts is specific to that location on the louver). Seeing them on the mall, with multiple color reflections looking toward the Washington Monument was stunning (let’s hope the photos come out). The Lumenhaus Eclipsis system actually is more than ’simply’ these rather beautiful metal shutter shades, but also includes translucent insulating panels filled with aerogel.
All of this monitoring and automation means that the Lumenhaus, left to its own devices, will have a quite different look dependent on time of day, weather conditions, or time of year. As they ask, “does your home dress for the seasons?”
Wandering the Solar Decathlon is like being caught in a big candy store for the ‘eco-geek’ within, but it is also eye candy for the aesthetics’ oriented (even though, of course, the integration of technology into our lives has a beauty of its own). Already mentioned, is the changing nature of the home during the season, the beauty of the shutter shades yet there is much more. Watching the video, walking into Lumenhaus (even while under construction) creates an “I want that” moment, seeing it as an eminently livable space … effective not just in energy terms.
Truth be told, essentially every one of the Solar Decathlon homes creates moments and feelings of “I want this” or “what a wonderful approach” or … That is one of the reasons it is such an Energy COOL event.
Integrate Site Design--LUMENHAUS' Landscape Architecture
10/07/2009 by asladirt
Solar Decathlon Puts Spotlight on Green Homes
Solar decathlon puts spotlight on green homes
October 7, 2009 - 3:57pm
WASHINGTON - Think your home is green?
You won't believe some of the solar-powered homes being featured on the National Mall.
More than 800 university students from the United States, Canada, Spain and Germany are competing in the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon to build the most energy-efficient home
One of the homes - which are around 800 square feet - was built by a team from Virginia Tech.
Architecture student Christian Truitt says an iPhone application controls Virginia Tech's version of an energy-efficient home.
"The phone can move the insulation, the walls. It can control your lighting, your curtains," Truitt says.
A weather station inside the home monitors conditions and makes "decisions on what's the right action to take to protect itself and keep itself most energy efficient," Truitt says.
But the 20 homes making it to the final round can't just look good. They also have to prove they're energy-efficient by performing everyday functions like laundry, heating and cooling.
The solar decathlon is open to the public starting on Thursday. The winner will be announced on Oct. 16.
For more information about the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon,click here.
LUMENHAUS feature on Solar Decathlon website
Daily Journal - October 6, 2009
Emerging Technologies Define Solar Decathlon
It's nail-biting time as teams wrap up the construction process. All houses must be grid-connected by 2 p.m. tomorrow, with assembly completed and lots cleaned by 5 p.m. That gives teams less than 24 hours to finish. Most teams remain upbeat, but you can sense a quickness to the pace and a sense of urgency from others. A look at the time-lapse camera may give the impression that a huge amount of work remains, but you'll be surprised how fast things will come together tomorrow afternoon.
The solar village is like one big puzzle with highly innovative pieces. As they are fitted together and nearing completion, we learn more about what makes each house special.
The Virginia Tech entry, Lumenhaus, is a high-tech marvel. Movable wall systems make it instantly recognizable. Sliding polycarbonate doors filled with Nanogel can be opened or closed for heat gain or loss. The panels and shading screens perform a large portion of the heating and cooling functions through passive design. When fully open, they create a pavilion-style living space that blends with the outdoors. Another feature of Lumenhaus is its concrete flooring. Specially developed for the Solar Decathlon, the concrete is integrated with a flexible material that makes the flooring lighter and easier to transport, opening up all kinds of opportunities for modular homebuilders.
http://www.solardecathlon.org/2009/daily_journal_1006.cfm
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Touring the Lumenhaus Solar House: Tech in skylight above the bathroom exposed.
Touring the Lumenhaus Solar House: Tech in skylight above the bathroom exposed.
Originally uploaded by curiouslee
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Virginia Tech
more information:
www.lumenhaus.com
www.solardecathlon.org
www.facebook.com/lumenhaus
www.twitter.com/lumenhaus
2009 Solar Decathlon
Eclipses sun screens, right, and a gray water filtration system, bottom, reflect the sun off the solar-powered Virginia Tech house during the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Monday, Oct. 05, 2009. (Photo by Stefano Paltera/US Dept. of Energy Solar Decathlon)
Uploaded by Dept of Energy Solar Decathlon on 5 Oct 09, 8.44PM EDT.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Virginia Tech Lumenhaus Kindles Solar Possibilities
From Oct. 4 through Oct 17, 2009, the Virginia Tech Lumenhaus will be displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where it will compete against 19 other universities to determine which team has designed and built the most efficient, operational solar-powered house to address evolving quality of life issues.
The major phases of the Solar Decathlon Competition include:
- Research: Students and faculty investigate all aspects of energy use in daily patterns of living. Interdisciplinary teams develop hundreds of alternatives synthesizing architectural intent with technological innovation. The theme of Virginia Tech’s solar house is Responsive Architecture and is designed to advance conservation as well as technical innovation.
- Building: The conceptual phase of the project proceeds through prototype development and testing. Alternatives are explored through full-scale mock-ups, drawings, models, animations, and computer simulations. This planning is validated or challenged through the act of construction. In addition to designing houses that use innovative, high-tech elements in ingenious ways, students work with fabricators, suppliers, consultants, and other professionals in a similar mode to the workplace they will eventually enter.
- Corporate Partnerships: With this fourth Solar Decathlon, the level of expertise and sophistication increases geometrically. Because of its past showings in 2002 and 2005, Virginia Tech is able to attract substantial corporate sponsorship. ConocoPhillips and Siemens are two of the many partners who have contributed cash, in-kind material, and services to enable the university to compete at an international level.
- Competing: Teams transport their houses to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for three weeks of public viewing and competition. During the competition itself, the teams receive points for their performance in 10 contests.
Virginia Tech is the only university in the commonwealth represented in the U. S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition. The teams, which were selected from universities in the United States, Canada, Spain, and Germany, were charged with creating houses that utilize energy-efficient technology and demonstrate that houses powered entirely by the sun do not have to sacrifice all the modern comforts and aesthetics homeowners are accustomed to.
Virginia Tech's Lumenhaus website includes a documentary, a video build-up that shows how the house is constructed from the inside out, detailed information about thetechnologies featured in the house, and a video experience of living in the house.
The road leading to the National Mall
An exhibition about the Virginia Tech Lumenhaus was open at the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Va., June 12 – Aug 23, 2009. The exhibition showcased the house’s Eclipsis system.
The Eclipsis system is an advanced building façade comprising two layers: a metal shutter shade and a translucent insulating panel. The shutter shade slides along the north and south façades, providing protection from direct sunlight while simultaneously allowing for indirect, natural lighting, views to the exterior and privacy to those inside. The sliding insulating panel is a translucent polycarbonate panel filled with aerogel. Aerogel is a super lightweight, highly insulating translucent material that provides insulation equivalent to a typical sold wall during harsh weather conditions without blocking natural light.
The Virginia Tech Lumenhaus was on exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., Sept. 5-27. The house was displayed on the museum’s west lawn while the team tested the systems and components.
The next stop
Virginia Tech is one of only two U.S. universities invited to compete in the first Solar Decathlon Europe, which will take place in Madrid in June 2010. The Solar Decathlon Europe competition is modeled on the biennial U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.
http://www.vt.edu/spotlight/innovation/2009-09-28-solar/2009-09-28-solar.html
THE SOLAR DECATHLON
For more information on events and workshops by day visit:http://www.solardecathlon.org/schedule.c
LUMENHAUS' last week @ the National Building Museum
Virginia Tech solar house on exhibit at National Building Museum Sept. 5-27
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 3, 2009 -- An innovative solar house that has been designed and constructed for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon by a team of Virginia Tech faculty and students will be on exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., Sept. 5-27.Virginia Tech and the National Building Museum have a long history of collaboration. Through tours of the house and public programming, the museum and Virginia Tech aim to educate the public about the importance of sustainable design within the built environment. The Virginia Tech solar house, named LUMENHAUS, will be on display on the museum’s west lawn at the intersection of 5th and F Street, in Northwest Washington, while the team makes final improvements on the construction of the house.At 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 10, to augment the exhibition, the museum will host a panel discussion about how cutting-edge sustainable technologies are conceived, developed, and ultimately brought to the market. Panelists include: Richard King, director, Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon; Paul Torcellini, senior researcher, National Renewable Energy Laboratories; Bill Sisson, director of sustainability, United Technologies Corporation; andLance Hosey, architect and journalist (moderator).For more information about the Virginia Tech solar house, visit the LUMENHAUS website. The website includes announcements about exhibitions; a documentary; a video build-upthat shows how the house is constructed from the inside out; detailed information about thetechnologies featured in the house; and a video experience of living in the house.Lead faculty on the Virginia Tech LUMENHAUS project are College of Architecture and Urban Studies faculty Joseph Wheeler, associate professor of architecture; Robert Dunay, the T. A. Carter Professor of Architecture; Andrew McCoy, assistant professor of building construction; and Robert Schubert, associate dean of research.Lead students on the project are Alden Haley of Glen Allen, Va., fifth-year architecture student; Corey McCalla of Rockville, Va., fifth-year architecture student; Casey Reeve of Shelter Island Heights, N.Y., fourth-year industrial design student, all in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, also Brian Zaremski of Manasas, Va., electrical engineering graduate student; and Ji-Sun Kim of Blacksburg, a doctoral computer science student, both in the College of Engineering.