Dawn Bonker
When it comes to solar power, Southern California delivered the real deal in timely fashion Friday. A team of students and officials from Orange County colleges and universities gathered under sun-drenched skies to officially launch construction of a solar-powered house they will build for entry into the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2015.
Before an audience of local officials and troops of students dressed in bright t-shirts emblazoned with “Team Orange County,” President Jim Doti called the collaboration with Chapman University, UC Irvine, Irvine Valley College and Saddleback Community College an exceptional opportunity to help address global warming.
“This truly is an historic moment,” Doti said. “Climate change is real. It’s a challenge facing our generation and future generations and when we can bring a collaborative team like this together, great things can happen. And it could be the model for how we face other problems that face our community, our nation and our planet Earth. It is indeed a privilege for Chapman University to be a part of it.”
The ground breaking was held on the campus of Irvine Valley College, where the house – called Casa Del Sol – will be assembled before it is moved in October 2015 to The Great Park in Irvine, where the 2013 decathlon was also held. The biennial decathlon challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate a solar-powered house that “best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency,” according to the Department of Energy website. The houses are displayed together as a kind of energy village so that during the judging the public can also tour the homes.
Prior to Irvine, the houses were displayed on The National Mall in Washington, D.C. Fred Smoller, Ph.D., associate professor in Chapman University’s Department of Political Science, played a key role in bringing the decathlon to Orange County, helping to convince Great Park officials that the wide open areas of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Base would be an ideal setting for the competition.
Team Orange County is made up of students from diverse fields, ranging from engineering and landscape design to marketing and communications. The team worked through the summer on preliminary plans for the house, drawing inspiration from the state flower, the California poppy. Like the poppy, the house’s solar features open to absorb daytime energy, and close at night to maintain a comfortable living environment.
Photo galleries of previous decathlons and more information about the October 2015 decathlon can be found online.
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