CU Solar Decathlon Team Opens House to Public

The University of Colorado’s 2007 Solar Decathlon house will be open for public tours starting tomorrow for Earth Day, a fitting day to showcase the student-designed, student-built home and its innovative, sustainable technologies.

The University of Colorado’s entry for the 2007 Solar Decathlon will open to the public on Earth Day when students will conduct tours of the house to explain its energy-efficient technologies.

Photo courtesy of the University of Colorado

The doors will open at 4 p.m. when students will give tours and answer visitors’ questions until 7 p.m. Drop-in tours will continue every Saturday from April 26 through May 31 from 1 to 5 p.m., and by appointment for groups of five or more. The house also is available for private events related to sustainable design, building or technology or climate awareness.

The house, which was returned to Boulder after the competition in Washington, D.C., is now located on CU-Boulder’s East Campus, near the intersection of Colorado Avenue and 30th Street.

“The team is excited to open the house to the community and looks forward to inspiring and informing the visitors about sustainable design and green building practices,” said team member Sara Hrynik.

The Solar Decathlon is a biannual competition organized by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Golden-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory. CU’s 2007 entry was the university’s third. Twenty universities participated in the event last October, including the University of Darmstadt in Germany, which took first place, and several other international teams.

The CU team used surplus shipping containers for the plumbing, mechanical and electrical core of its house, and structural insulated panels for the living spaces. The home also showcases an innovative building-integrated photovoltaic-thermal array and water-source heat-pump system designed by the engineering team.

Visitors will be able to learn about solar power, energy-efficient strategies for home design and environmentally friendly interior design materials and finishes.

For more information, go to http://solar.colorado.edu. To schedule private tours or events, contact Chad Corbin at 720-771-6782 or charles.corbin@colorado.edu, or professor Michael Brandemuehl at 303-492-8594 or michael.brandemuehl@colorado.edu.