This is the first time Uruguay has participated in this competition, which was created in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Energy with the aim of raising awareness among college students and the general public about the opportunities and benefits of clean energy.
For the 2015 edition, which is being held in Latin America for the first time, Solar Decathlon invited universities to compete in Cali, Colombia, with social housing projects adapted to specific climatic conditions and focused on the intelligent use of economic and natural resources.
In 2014, the School of Architecture at Universidad ORT Uruguay offering the elective course "Solar Decathlon Workshop," which aims to prepare students to submit proposals to the competition.
Thus, a multidisciplinary team composed of 33 students and graduates from the four schools, with the support of eight faculty members, developed the self-sustaining housing project known as La Casa Uruguaya, designed to foster responsible consumption habits and educate people on the proper use of energy.
Technological innovation
Using technology currently under development, the project team is working to equip the house with, among other things, smart and customizable systems designed to:
- Provide updates on what's happening in the home (temperature and lighting) by sending messages to the user with recommendations on how to optimize energy consumption.
- Automatically close the windows when it rains.
- Detect the presence of stale air and either turn on the ventilation or send a message to the user to notify them.
- Turn off appliances in sync with a smart grid.
- Provide information on the amount of energy generated by the sun, the energy fed back into the grid, and even the amount that may be consumed overnight.
"Information on all the finalist projects, including the technological and architectural innovations presented, is available to anyone who wishes to use it for personal or commercial purposes," explains architect Eliseo Cabrera, the project coordinator.
"That is precisely the goal of the contest: to educate as many people as possible and raise awareness about the numerous economic and environmental benefits of using solar energy," adds Cabrera.
Social interest
La Casa Uruguaya designed as an affordable housing unit, with a floor area of 80 square meters and materials costing no more than $50,000. Furthermore, the project can be assembled in less than 10 days, as required by the competition guidelines.
The house is bioclimatic; in other words, it is designed to respond to the climate of the location where it will be built. To achieve this, has perimeter thermal has and a roof overhang that shields the building from the sun and heat while absorbing the nighttime cool air from the upper layers of the atmosphere.
"The Solar Decathlon isn't just a competition for solar-powered homes, but for sustainable housing—that is, housing solutions that prioritize sustainability and efficient use of all resources. That's why we encourage the use of solar energy to reduce consumption," says Daniel Gómez, an engineer and one of the faculty members involved in the project.
The prototype of La Casa Uruguaya on display to the public from Thursday, September 3, through Sunday, September 6, on the plaza of the Tres Cruces shopping mall and bus terminal. It was then dismantled and will be shipped to Colombia, where the world finals of the 2015 Solar Decathlon Latin America and Caribbean competition will take place.
The winner of the competition will be the team that best combines accessibility, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.