Chapman University will help to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon on Saturday at the Great Park in Irvine, California as a part of Team Orange County. The competition challenges universities across the country to design and build houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive.

Team OC is comprised of students from Chapman, UCI, Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College, but the competition overall features a much wider geographic range of students. Teams from Northern California, Texas, Missouri, New York and many other locations across America will also be competing.

“This truly is an historic moment,” said Jim Doti, President of Chapman University. “When we can bring a collaborative team like this together, great things can happen. It could be the model for how we tackle other problems that face our community, our nation and our planet.”
“We are extremely proud that Team Orange has been selected for this important competition,” said Chapman University Chancellor, Daniele Struppa. “Chapman’s mission emphasizes the importance of educating global citizens, and I cannot imagine a more appropriate way to demonstrate this to our students.”

Several Chapman students serve as team leaders for Team OC: Camy Jun, Chief Marketing Officer; Kyle Decker, Documentary/Co-Director/Editor; and Lotus Thai, Head of Events & Media Relations.

“This project has given me the opportunity to learn outside of the traditional classroom,” Thai said. “After two years of hard work, it’s really exciting to see the house come to life! I still can’t believe that this is actually happening and I cannot wait for everyone to come tour our home.”

Thai, an Environmental Science & Policy major, is one of many students representing Schmid College with a strong involvement in the project. Below is a full list of Schmid College students participating in the Solar Decathlon 2015:

• Clayton Heard, Environmental Science & Policy
• Lotus Thai, Environmental Science & Policy
• Sara Wanous, Environmental Science & Policy
• Hannah Francis, Environmental Science & Policy
• Kyvan Elep, Environmental Science & Policy
• Kiyoko Nakatsui, Environmental Science & Policy
• Alexandra Sidun, Environmental Science & Policy

Chapman will provide a free shuttle service to and from the Great Park, click here for more information.

My intrigue with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon was sparked when I visited the Orange County Great Park, in Irvine CA, in October 2013 to see the U.S. DOE’s 6th Solar Decathlon.  Shortly after arriving at the Solar Village and stepping off of Chapman University’s shuttle, I could already feel the buzzing energy, the high-stakes, and the excitement as students, like myself, from all over the world had gathered in a competition meant to revolutionize and inspire change in the way we live our lives in modern society.  The Solar Decathlon is also intended to alter the perspective of attendees in their way of thinking and motivate more thoughtful decision making from consumers who have traveled far and wide to attend and learn more about this modern, elite, competition.

Although I didn’t move to Honolulu, Hawaii until I was six, I consider it my hometown and am grateful for the years of my life I’ve spent there.  Hawaii is an exquisite place surrounded by natural beauty and has a plethora of outdoor activities that people travel thousands of miles to experience and see.  Growing up in Hawaii, it was common to hear the phrase “Malama ‘Aina,” meaning “to care for the land.”  The center of Hawaiian culture revolves around this idea of caring for the land and living in the balance with nature, rather than using it as an expendable resource to fulfill human needs.  My love for the ocean, the outdoors, and experiencing all of the beauty that Hawaii has to offer, coupled with my curiosity and love for science, pushed me to becoming an Environmental Science and Policy major.

Shortly after hearing that Chapman University was selected and approved to be a part of Team Orange County, I knew I would join Team OC and aid their efforts as they strive towards victory in the 2015 Solar Decathlon.  It seemed too good to be true; this rare, once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in this international collegiate competition centered on sustainability and innovation, seemingly fell into my lap.

Since the spring of 2014, I have been involved in Team Orange County’s efforts, helping in various work groups from graphic and interior design, to communications, and more recently with home life and construction.  This experience has taken me through ups, downs, and everything in between.  I am here to say that I am more than thankful for such an experience and a rare opportunity, and I’m proud to be part of Team Orange County.

“Seeing the passion in the students and knowing they are going to make a difference in the world” was Richard King’s response to what was most rewarding about the Solar Decathlon.”

Teaming up for their first U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon, a coalition of students from the University of California, Irvine, Chapman University, Irvine Valley College, and Saddleback College are uniting as one: Team Orange County. Comprised of a research institution, a private university, and two prominent community colleges, Team OC embodies a broad range of educational backgrounds and perspectives.

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The New York Times reported that Folsom, California has plans to build 10,200 new homes, even though the city manager is aware that Folsom Lake, the city’s sole source of water, is depleting to historically low levels as a result of California’s four-year drought.

The city manager, Evert W. Palmer, argues the city has enough water to handle a population increase up to 100,000 people by 2036, and that it would be “economic folly” not to try to maximize the city.

“That would create unnecessary economic hardships here to benefit others,” Mr. Palmer said. “And while I’m a citizen of the planet, I’m also paid to manage the home team.”

Many California towns face the same dilemma: they must continue to expand despite the risk of completely running out of water. We aim to provide a solution to this problem with our home, Casa del Sol. Inspired by the diurnal California poppy, Casa del Sol is drought-resistant. In Southern California, residential landscaping uses the largest percentage of household water. To mitigate this demand, Casa del Sol recycles its greywater and uses rainwater catchment tanks to sustain our xeriscaping. Casa del Sol also features an edible garden. The edible garden is located adjacent to the outdoor dining room and further accentuates the Southern California indoor-outdoor lifestyle. We designed the vertical hydroponic watering system to provide the edible plants with fresh water in a closed loop, further reducing water consumption. Traditional sprinkler systems often require more water because surface-level moisture evaporates in the heat; our hydroponic watering system helps us prevent this.

Aside from the edible garden, the greywater and rainwater catchment systems can sufficiently meet all of Casa del Sol’s landscape water needs. The greywater catchment tanks can hold 250 gallons of water. The tank’s drainage pipes rely on gravity to collect storm water and greywater from the house and also to disperse it appropriately for xeriscaping. The greywater is set on a bilge pump, timer and drip line mechanism to irrigate potted plants around the home, and is designed to take into account the greywater arrival scheduling and plant-watering demand. The pump is turned on after the first hot water draw from the shower so that a sufficient amount of water remains in the tank.

Imagine if the 10,200 new homes built in Folsom were designed with Casa del Sol’s drought-resistant features. The water savings would enormously benefit California, the communities would feel more reassured and city managers, like Evert W. Palmer, would no longer need to choose between managing “the home team” and being a “citizen of the planet.”

Last week the annual Engineering Leadership Council meeting for the Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science was held at UCI. During the meeting, the last task on the agenda, but certainly not the least, was a short presentation from Alex McDonald, Team OC’s project leader.

The concept of biomimicry set the tone for Team OC’s presentation. The driving inspiration behind Casa del Sol’s design is the golden poppy, a California native flower with an inherent efficiency for survival in our local environment. Alex discussed a multitude of technological features utilized by our house that mirror features of the golden poppy.
Council members questioned if the exterior of Casa del Sol mirrored the golden poppy. We clarified that it’s not the outside appearance of the house, but the ideological concept of the flower, that Casa del Sol parallels.In addition to biomimicry, Alex touched on Casa del Sol’s custom tailoring for Californians, something that resonated with all attendees. The flexible features of our house are innumerable.

The presentation piqued the interest of numerous council members. Team OC enjoyed sharing a common belief of sustainability and energy efficiency with the Engineering Leadership Council, and left with great advice from many trusted professionals.

Be sure to check out our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for frequent updates about Team OC.

Check our blog again next week for more updates about Team OC in our mission to Make a Sustainable Future Feel Like Home.

Irvine, CA, USA

Solar Decathlon’s Team Orange County attended the DOE workshop on January 9th and 10th. The workshop was a two day event in which the 17 teams, all with a mutual goal of sustainability and innovation, came together to learn more about each other, as well as participate in fun activities. On the first day, each team gave a presentation of their homes. Then, there was a dinner in which tables were assigned so that you were able to interact with different team members from all different areas. Lotus Thai, team leader of the Marketing and Fundraising of Team Orange County said, “It was interesting to learn each teams challenges. I was surprised when learning that many teams have to move here for a month during the actual competition.”

In addition to mingling with the diverse teams, the workshop also featured guest speakers including prominent community leaders such as Mayor Choy of Irvine, the Director of Solar Decathlon Richard King, and Councilwoman Christina Shea. It was even announced that each team would have the opportunity to present at a TedX conference. Team Orange County had a great time at the DOE workshop and learned a lot about the work each team and their supporting communities are putting into the competition.

Last week Team OC had the opportunity to learn more about one of our first sponsors, Southern California Edison. We spent the morning touring their 31-acre campus in Westminster, California and got a first-hand look at their Advanced Technology Lab facility. At the facility, we learned how the choices we make daily could improve our overall energy-efficiency.

Being in the business of energy distribution simultaneously puts Edison at the forefront of energy-efficiency technology research. One of SoCal Edison’s main foundational concepts is to protect the environment. Two of SoCal Edison’s engineers, Alexsandra Guerra and Stephen Collins, guided us through one of their projects that addresses this: the Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration, more commonly known at SoCal Edison as ISGD. The tour included an interactive walk-through of ISGD’s step-by-step process.

Southern California Edison tested numerous Smart Grid technologies in an attempt to meet the state and federal policy goals for 2020. In its partnership with University of California Irvine, the ISGD project investigates how to measure sustainable energy use through the variety of levels: device level, a house level, a subspace level, and ultimately, the grid at large.
One of our first stops on the tour was in the Garage of the Future. Here we discussed technology that allows an electric vehicle to automatically charge when electricity is at its cheapest. We learned that the most economic time to use electricity is during non-peak hours. Non-peak hours are hours when most people use electricity, resulting in a lower price for consumers during this window of time.
We are fascinated with Smart Grid technologies and the grids’ ability to communicate and operate with one other. At the next stop on the tour, Alexsandra and Stephen explained how residents could utilize their home’s control systems to monitor which appliances utilize the most electricity at any given time. From there, residents can alter using their appliances during non-peak hours to conserve energy, save money, and reduce emissions.

This informative tour of SoCal Edison is just one of the many reasons we are so glad to have them as one of our sponsors. Ultimately, SoCal Edison showed us how the utilization of electricity can coincide with preservation of our environment.

Be sure to check out our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for frequent updates about Team OC.

Check our blog again next week for more updates about Team OC in our mission to Make a Sustainable Future Feel Like Home.

Team OC chased the sun with great strides this first week of June. The organic, cohesive efforts of Team OC are apparent through our consistent progress. We can’t wait to show you what we’ve been up to. Some highlights from this week were when we spray painted the outline of Casa del Sol, worked on our SWEC, and revamped our virtual presence.

Team OC officially mapped out Casa del Sol at Irvine Valley College. This white spray paint is just the inception of what’s to come!

Just yesterday graduate student, Moritz Limpinsel, took this candid picture of Zhongyue of UCI working with Dr. Eric Jarvis on the SWEC. The SWEC is a unique prototype for a Sub Wetbulb Evaporative Chiller, and was invented by Dr. Eric Jarvis himself.

Team OC completely revamped our virtual presence. Now there is easier access to our currently trending content such as media from our construction site. In addition, all of our social mediums are linked and visible on our website. Lastly, we updated our sponsor list to show off our amazing sponsors. Be sure to check out our new website and updates about Casa del Sol!

Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for frequent updates about Team OC.

Be sure to visit our blog next week for more updates about Team OC our mission to Make a Sustainable Future Feel Like Home.

When first thinking of the word ‘decathlon,’ sports, specifically the Olympic Decathlon where individuals compete in ten track & field events, was the first thing that came to mind. In the Solar Decathlon’s case however, we will not be hurdling over solar panels or using them in a discus throw (could we be on to something?).

No, no- as entertaining as that may seem, the Solar Decathlon’s home will be judged and measured in ten different areas:

• Architecture Contest (juried)
• Market Appeal Contest (juried)
• Engineering Contest (juried)
• Communications Contest (juried)
• Affordability Contest (juried)
• Comfort Zone Contest (measured)
• Appliances Contest (measured)
• Home Life Contest (measured)
• Commuting Contest (measured)
• Energy Balance Contest (measured)

As listed on the U.S. Solar Decathlon website, teams will earn points in three different ways:

• Task completion

Teams complete household tasks such as cooking, washing dishes, and doing laundry.

• Monitored performance

Team houses perform to specified criteria, such as maintaining a comfortable (71°–76°F) indoor temperature range.

• Jury evaluation

Jurors who are experts in their field (such as architecture, engineering, and communications) award points for features that cannot be measured (such as aesthetics and design inspiration).

Check out some of the contests here.

Team OC has been hard at work training in their specified areas of expertise. The miles gained from running from campus to campus and meetings easily put our odometer ahead of other teams. Let’s be real though- this is a competition where quality outweighs quantity. However, a few thousand extra supporters for our home team would look pretty impressive. So mark your calendars and come represent Team OC on October 5th at the Irvine Great Park.

Only six more months till the finish line approaches! See you all there.