Built in Milwaukee for Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the goal of the joint entry in this year\u2019s Solar Decathlon from 51ÁÔÆæ and UW-Madison.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Department of Energy sponsors the\u00a0decathlon competition for architectural designs that are energy efficient. As they have for the past six years, 51ÁÔÆæ architecture students are partnering with mechanical engineering students\u00a0at UW-Madison on their entry.<\/p>\n
The team has chosen to enter the urban single-family house category, and is submitting a design for a house that the City of Milwaukee could use, according to architecture student Joe Peletis, who designed the house selected for this year\u2019s entry.<\/p>\n
\u201cMilwaukee is trying to solve the\u00a0problem of lots of vacant lots around the city,\u201d\u00a0Peletis\u00a0said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to give them a solution that they can use on any of those vacant lots.\u201d<\/p>\n
What makes this house different from previous Solar Decathlon entries is that it\u2019s designed specifically for the city of Milwaukee, added Cara Walls. She is one of the nine 51ÁÔÆæ architecture students working with 11 UW-Madison mechanical engineering students on the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe designed it so it could be pre-manufactured,\u00a0so it would be less expensive for the city,\u201d she said. \u201cWith that comes a certain adaptability, so that this house can fit on different lots\u00a0and different orientations. That\u2019s a big part of this project.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s\u00a0Solar Decathlon Design Challenge, which will be held April\u00a016-18 in Golden, Colorado, will once again be virtual because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
The 51ÁÔÆæ-UW-Madison team has been chosen as one of\u00a061\u00a0finalists and will present its design with a written report and a 20-minute video\u00a0submitted to national reviewers before the event. Architecture Professor Mark Keane is working with the 51ÁÔÆæ group,\u00a0UW-Madison engineering lecturer Mike Cheadle with the Madison students.<\/p>\n
The collaboration is a good learning experience for both the architecture and engineering students on the team, Keane said, giving both groups a chance to learn more about the other profession\u2019s approach to saving energy.<\/p>\n
“The Solar Decathlon project brought a lot of the real-world perspective into my engineering-built mind,\u201d said Tyler Neutgens, one of the UW-Madison engineering students. \u201cThe knowledge I got through this project was more than the basics of building a home but also the organization, communication and responsibility that comes with any given project. \u201d<\/p>\n
The goal of the competition is to create sustainable homes that fight climate change by reducing energy consumption,\u00a0Keane said.<\/p>\n
The 51ÁÔÆæ-UW-Madison entry is a\u00a0three-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot house with\u00a0two bathrooms, natural wood finishes, rich white millwork and\u00a0energy saving light fixtures that can be managed with a smartphone. Energy saving features include R-50 insulation and a pre-installed photovoltaic system to collect solar energy.<\/p>\n
Energy efficiency\u00a0is increasingly necessary as people become more environmentally conscious, and\u00a0is becoming an important part of code compliance,\u00a0Peletis\u00a0said. At the same time, he added,\u00a0\u201cwe wanted\u00a0the house\u00a0to be aesthetically pleasing and comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The students researched other Milwaukee housing to find a style that would be modern but still would fit into the community, Walls\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cWe didn\u2019t want it to look like a super random house placed there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Designing a house that could be pre-manufactured in four parts, then put in place on the site,\u00a0was an important consideration for the team. \u201cIf pieces are done in the factory, it can go together rather quickly,\u201d\u00a0Peletis\u00a0said. \u201cIt also reduces construction waste.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another goal of the design is to make such modular housing more appealing, overcoming some stigmas attached to it, Walls\u00a0said. \u201cWe wanted a house that people would want to live in that had curb appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n