TEMPE, Ariz. (Sept. 27, 2013) – Sundt Construction (www.sundt.com), is sponsoring an intercollegiate team comprised of students from Arizona State University and the University of New Mexico in the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.
The Solar Decathlon has 20 teams from colleges and universities from around the world competing to build solar-powered, high-efficiency homes that combine affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence. The final competition will be held at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif., during a 10-day period from Oct. 3-13, where each team’s home will be judged in 10 categories ranging from best architecture and engineering to optimal energy production. The Sundt-sponsored team, Team ASUNM, which developed its name from the acronyms of the two schools, has transported the house via large tractor-trailers from Phoenix to Orange County and is in the process of reassembling them for the competition.
“It’s a privilege to support this group of young individuals who have an opportunity to create something that will make a positive impact on the world,” said Sundt President and CEO David Crawford. “We have always strived to protect the environment through sustainable designs and practices, and this competition embodies all of that while educating our future engineers, architects and community leaders.”
Team ASUNM spent the last two years designing and building an 850-square-foot home that sits within the landscape, creating micro-climates. Aptly named SHADE (Solar Homes Adapting for Desert Equilibrium), the home design features an independent solar canopy comprised of 36 high-efficiency mono-crystalline photovoltaic panels, phase-change material distributed throughout the house storing thermal energy and buffering temperature fluctuations, a capillary radiant system in the ceiling that passively radiates the temperature of the room, a thermal battery that stores water to make ice at night and uses it during the day to cool the space, and a whole-house system control that monitors and controls the efficiency of the solar panels.
Other features of the home include tanks that store collected rainwater for irrigating the landscape, a fiber-cement board that reflects sunlight, rain screens that help grow native species of plants, screens on the walls that provide shade and a still boundary layer of air, modular furniture that allows flexible room space to be configured and a natural clay coating on the interior walls to provide a humidity buffer.
About Sundt
Sundt Construction, Inc. is one of the country’s largest and most respected general contractors. Known nationally for its innovative approach to construction services, the firm is currently ranked the 64th largest construction company in the United States by ENR, the industry’s principal trade magazine.