Harvest Home: DC’s Submission For the 2013 Solar Decathlon

• May 15, 2013
• 3 Comments

by Shilpi Paul

Courtesy of Team Capitol DC.

Even though it is no longer on the Mall, the Solar Decathalon will take place this year and DC will be sending a team to compete.

Team Capitol DC, a collaboration between Catholic University, George Washington and American University students, will compete against 19 other teams from across the country in California this October. UrbanTurf recently received details regarding the concept for the team’s entry and a rendering of what it will look like.

Dubbed Harvest, the concept is a net-zero home that generates energy primarily by “harvesting” excess heat from photovoltaic panels and recapturing excess heat from appliances. The entry into the competition will be constructed from reclaimed materials, and will harvest rainwater to be used within the home. The design calls for rain screens to keep moisture from seeping into the house, and ventilation to cool the home whenever possible.

When the competition is over, Team Capitol DC will donate the home to a U.S. veteran.

In the last Solar Decathlon in 2011, a local team from the University of Maryland took top honors.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dcs_submission_to_the_2013_solar_decathlon/7068

3 Comments

1. Emily said at 2:58 pm on Wednesday May 15, 2013:
   This kind of just looks like UMD's submission last solar decathlon but with wood paneling on the side...

1. aj said at 4:44 pm on Monday May 20, 2013:
   Emily - all the entries have to fit on a flatbed trailer so the geometry is often pretty similar between entries. and chrystalline solar panels have to be oriented towards the sun... so Maryland's entry looks like almost everyone else's and everyone else's looks a lot like Maryland's. Very few entries over the last few years have deviated from the shoe box with PV. Kudos to those that have, however I don't think you can claim UMD has a copyright on a shoebox with PV & a bump-out.

1. Thompson said at 3:18 pm on Monday June 17, 2013:
   I am a honorably discharged US veteran. Has the veteran recipient been identified yet or is there a process to become a candidate to received the donated home.