SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A team of more than 80 students from SCU’s School of Engineering has been working on the solar home for the past year. Some of the features of the SCU house are a solar-thermal-driven air conditioner, bamboo I-beams, and self-tinting windows. The solar home will be judged in 10 categories: Architecture, Engineering, Graphics and Communication, the Comfort Zone, Hot Water, Appliances, Energy Balance, Lighting, Marketing, and Getting Around. The house will have to power a car as well as a complete set of appliances used in modern American homes. “The building of this house is truly a collaborative effort between students, faculty, and the community, and demonstrates the power and promise of alternative energy,” said James Bickford, project manager of SCU’s Solar Decathlon team. In October, the solar home will be transported cross country to Washington, D.C., where it will become part of a solar village composed of homes designed and built by the Solar Decathlon teams. Among the teams SCU will be competing against are: Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Cornell University; Texas A&M University; University of Colorado, Denver and Boulder; Pennsylvania State University; and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
