Oct 3 2013
A team of students and faculty from Arizona State University and the University of New Mexico (Team ASUNM) has created an energy-efficient home called Solar Homes Adapting for Desert Equilibrium (SHADE). The house is an adaptable 800-square-feet living space powered by solar panels and designed for an older, active couple living in a Southwest desert environment.
The SHADE house built by the ASUNM team for the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon competition being held in Irvine, Calif.
In a front-page article published in the Arizona Republic, reporter Kara Morrison commends SHADE as “one of many (projects in the Valley) that is challenging standard homebuilding practices and pushing energy-efficient technologies.”
The story highlighted the many innovations that were incorporated into SHADE’s design and structure. For example, the house uses “a radiant heating and cooling system that uses water-filled capillaries above a plaster ceiling as a way to cool or heat the home.” The house is also experimenting with materials in the flooring that absorb heat when a room is warm and release it when the temperature falls, thus helping to maintain the room’s thermal profile at a steady temperature.
SHADE is set to participate in the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. The international competition challenges student teams from institutions of higher education to design, construct and operate solar-powered houses that are functional, energy efficient and attractive.
The biennial event takes place Oct. 3-13 at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif., and is open to visitors each Thursday through Sunday during the 11-day event. For more information, visit solardecathlon.gov.