Purdue's solar house proposal selected for national competition

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Purdue University will compete in a green competition this fall after years of planning. A fully solar house being built on campus will be judged against teams from across the world.

Construction along McCormick Road in the Purdue West Shopping Plaza was in full force Friday afternoon. The house is on track for a July open house. What started out as a paperwork proposal a few years ago by a handful of students, has turned into a thriving construction site.

"We found out we were accepted and it's kind of nice to see it come alive off the paper," said volunteer Sarah Miller, who was one of the students who helped create the proposal.

A group of students entered the Solar Decathlon 2011, a competition put on by the United States Department of Energy. Purdue is one of 16 universities from the U.S. and four from around the world whose proposal was accepted.

"To demonstrate the capabilities of green living, sustainable design and solar power applications," said Lee Causey, a graduate student volunteering on the project.

One of the main requirements for the house is that it must have a net-zero energy consumption. That means the house must produce as much energy as the people who will be living in it create. The house must also appraise for under $250,000 and be less than 1,000 square feet.

"We're limited by height. 18 feet is as high as we can go so we don't shade any other house (during the competition)," said Kevin Rodgers, who is volunteering with the project and helped with the initial proposal.

The house will be judged on overall engineering, architecture, appeal and affordability. The team also has only seven days to tear down the house and transport it to Washington D.C. and set it up again.

"We're going to give ourselves a trial run here so we don't do it for the first time in D.C. We'll put it on trucks, drive it around the block and time ourselves with seven days," said Causey.

Each proposal selected for the competition received $100,000 from the Department of Energy, but because of the transport and construction costs, this donor-funded home will need more.

"The rest of it has been up to the team to raise. We're actually still in the fundraising process," said Rodgers.

If Purdue's solar house wins, there isn't a monetary prize, simply bragging rights. They estimate between construction, transport and student lodging in Washington D.C., the cost will near $700,000.

The students want to bring the house back to West Lafayette after the competition and donate it to a non-profit.

To find out more information about the house and the students' mission, visit the Purdue Solar Decathlon INhome website.