You don’t need to be an Iron Man to win the Solar Decathlon.
The 2013 Solar Decathlon in China was just held and Australia took out the big prize. Team UOW (of University of Wollongong and TAFE Illawarra Institute) are the first Australian team to have ever placed in the Solar Decathlon.
24 teams from 14 countries around the world are chosen to design, build, and operate a solar-powered home that is energy efficient, cost effective to build and appealing. A judging panel uses the following categories to judge: solar application, architecture, engineering, energy balance, market appeal, home entertainment and appliances.
In Australia, 13% of carbon dioxide emissions are made up of homes. That’s why team UOW decided to retrofit the common Australian “fibro” house. A Fibro house is constructed using fibre cement sheets.
Their winning design was called Illawarra Flame House, named after the Illawarra Flame tree, which transforms and renews itself seasonally. Their concept turned an 80 square metre home with 3 bedrooms into an open space home that produced more energy then it consumed.
They achieved this with the use of solar PV panels, knocking down walls, installing bi-fold windows and doors, thermal walls and drought-resistant plants.
The 2014 Solar Decathlon will be held in October, in Irvine, California.
