Visit the University of Cincinnati campus Friday and step into the sleek environs of a solar-powered future—an 800-square-foot solar-powered home designed and built by UC students and faculty—as part of UC Showcase 2008. The annual Showcase allows UC researchers to show off their best work in medicine, technology, business and partnerships during a day designed expressly for the public, Friday, March 7, from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
With nationally and internationally ranked programs in design, engineering and medicine, University of Cincinnati is one of a handful of institutions in the nation and the world (and the only one in Ohio) named as a PACE (Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education) university. Last year, that designation earned UC more than $420-million in advanced hardware and software from a select consortium on international firms. The University of Cincinnati is ranked among the top 25 public research universities in the U.S., earning more than $330 million annually in research support.
While the rest of Showcase’s more than 100 exhibits fill Tangeman University Center, the solar house, which traveled to the National Mall in Washington, DC, during the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon last fall, will sit in the heart of campus on McMicken Commons.
“We decided it was a good fit for Showcase because of the interdisciplinary nature of this project,” says Anton Harfmann, associate dean in the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning (DAAP). He helped construct the house on campus starting last April and assisted the team in DC. “There were several colleges involved, lots of different student from different disciplines and lots of industry partners.”
DAAP leaders enlisted the help of the College of Engineering, the College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences for the Solar Home project, making it one of the most ambitious, cross-collaborative efforts ever undertaken by UC.
The house, in storage since the international Solar Decathlon last October, is being fully restored for Showcase 2008. Architecture and design students made sure the house’s colorful exterior catches attention, from its rainbow of refabricated steel rescued from construction sites and painted in vibrant hues by students to its wall of blue evacuated tubes which collect heat from the sun so that it can be transformed into usable energy for the house--including refrigeration and air conditioning for warm weather.
Those impressive blue tubes serve as an example of the power of business partnerships and the potential of UC’s local sustainable influence. The Solar Decathlon team and Evendale-based Aluminum Extruded Shapes Inc have filed a joint U.S. patent application for mounting brackets that were devised by team members to hold the tubes while the house was being assembled.
More of the house’s innovations, though not nearly as obvious, illustrate environmentally friendly solutions to homebuilding and UC team members’ creative thinking. Think rubber flooring made from used tires, a deck made of refuse plastic and wood, and countertops comprised of compressed paper.
Other solar highlights include an array of photovoltaic (PV) panels, often called solar panels, that convert energy from the sun into electric power and one of the team’s most-prized additions, a Rotartica absorption chiller. The absorption chiller, only the second such unit in existence and in use in the U.S., produces cold air from the hot water in the evacuated tubes to allow for air conditioning.
UC’s entry into the 2007 Solar Decathlon pitted the team against universities from around world, all focused on building solar houses that are not only beautiful, but powered entirely by the sun’s energy. While UC placed 15th out of 20 teams overall, Harfmann views the project itself as a victory for the university and looks forward to learning the lessons of this first attempt.
Bringing the house back to campus for Showcase is an appropriate way to begin that learning process. “UC Showcase is a university wide effort that celebrates collaboration, innovation and partnerships with industry,” Harfmann says.
During Showcase, the public and members of Cincinnati’s business sector take advantage of a rare chance to meet with researchers responsible for nationally and internationally lauded projects. Many of the projects involved in Showcase have already received extensive media attention in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and MSNBC.
While the Solar House stands as a campus showpiece during Showcase, Harfmann stresses that showing off the fruits of collaboration during the signature event is just the start. For the next six months, the house will remain on campus, where students and faculty will use the life-size sustainability lab to experiment. It’s a chance for hands-on learning about energy-efficiency, controlled research and plenty of cool plans for a greener future.
What: UC Showcase 2008
When: Friday, March 7, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Tangeman University Center, University of Cincinnati (and McMicken Commons)
Registration recommended, but not required. Register here.
Ryan McLendon, a senior at UC, is triple-majoring in English, German and Journalism. He writes for The News Record and CityBeat and wrote and produced web content for CET. His special areas of interest include the Cincinnati local/national music scene, GLBT issues and green initiatives.
Images courtesy of Emily Schneider