STUDENTS TEAM UP TO BUILD SOLAR HOUSE FOR DOE CONTEST

For the second time in a row, Hampton University architectural students and Old Dominion University engineering students are joining forces to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon in Irvine, Calif., in 2013. Called Team Tidewater, the group has been chosen as a finalist for the competition that includes 20 colleges from the United States, Canada and Europe.

The team is designing and building a solar-powered and energy-efficient home that the average person can control. The home is also being designed to be easily accessible for the visually impaired and others with disabilities.

"We want to go with a universal design with features that do not isolate anyone," one of the student team members said. "It's important to us that it works for everybody. We have a good design that can be used by everyone."

"We also want to take the guess work out of using solar energy," said David Peronnet, professor of architecture at Hampton University, principal investigator for the team and adviser for the group along with Muide Erten-Unal, associate professor of civil engineering at Old Dominion University. Both are veterans of the venture.

Other advisers are Professor Shirshak Dhali, chair of Old Dominion's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Professor of Mechanical Engineering Gene Hou and Nathan Luetke, senior lecturer of engineering technology.

The home is called Canopy House because it takes its design from a canopy of trees. The hope is the home will have curb appeal because one criterion is its marketability.

While technology is improving for residential solar energy, Peronnet said it is not attractive in appearance. This is a challenge for the architectural students. The architectural students are done with the basic concept and are now working on the schematic design.

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