Antinuclear

Wollongong’s revolutionary “solar renewal house”

A Photovoltaic Thermal Air System creates heat in winter while in summer the system creates cool air through the night. In winter the thermal storage allows the system to store heat during the day and then release this to the home at night. In summer the reverse occurs.

Solar renewal in the suburbs http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/solar-renewal-in-the-suburbs/story-e6frg8io-1226611687319  BY:STEPHEN BROOK :The Australian  April 05,

A team of 30 students from the University of Wollongong and the adjacent TAFE Illawarra, schooled in the disciplines of engineering, architecture, creative design, construction and marketing, supported by a network from industry and academia, are close to realising their dream – the transformation of the humblest of domestic dwellings, the fibro home, into an energy- efficient house of world class.

Just how world class will become apparent in August when the project – dubbed the Illawarra Flame – is displayed on the world stage.

The Illawarra Flame has won a place in the finals of the Solar Decathlon, one of the world’s biggest renewable energy competitions, scheduled to take place in August in the city of Datong, in northern China. The contest is a joint undertaking of the US Department of Energy and China’s National Energy Administration….. The team admit their plan is radical but say it is affordable and achievable. The team will construct the home only to take it apart again and ship it to China. Rather than a dream house constructed from scratch, the Illawarra Flame design is a retrofit of an existing home – a first for the Decathlon but one that makes the project eminently suitable for Australia.

“We have around eight million homes existing in Australia, and 1 to 2 per cent demolished and replaced each year means 60 per cent will still be standing in 2050,” says project manager Lloyd Niccol,….

“The problem is our residential housing sector contributes 13 per cent of our carbon emissions and we want to try and retrofit our existing homes, which are probably using far more energy than they need to.”

Each Australian house leaks about 14 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, the same amount expended by a car driving from east to west across the continent.

And by 2050 our population will have aged with the houses, with many empty nesters looking for smaller-scale living that the suburban fibro provides.

“We don’t want to sit in our ivory tower and design something that can’t be done,” Niccol says.

Team UOW will be the only Australian team competing at the decathlon, a decade-old competition, that is moving to Asia for the first time.

“What make this project difficult is trying to incorporate so many different techniques to make it cost- effective and functional,” Niccol says……. On the north face of the house, windows have been enlarged to allow increased natural lighting and ventilation and minimal energy consumption, while passive shading is fixed over the northern and western windows to minimise heat radiation in the summer, while allowing solar radiation in the winter.

Vertical gardens on the front and back decks improve local air quality while the green walls provide the best places for mechanical air installation. The original floor plan has been modified to favour open-plan living connecting the interior and exterior. The north-side decking is a warm, sunny entertaining area while the southern deck is shaded for summer. The original timber frame has been converted into the decking, while crushed roof tiles become thermal mass between the walls…….

A Photovoltaic Thermal Air System creates heat in winter while in summer the system creates cool air through the night. In winter the thermal storage allows the system to store heat during the day and then release this to the home at night. In summer the reverse occurs…..At the Solar Decathlon, Team UOW faces 22 teams from 13 countries. But they hope a unique aspect of the Illawarra Flame will impress judges – it is the only entry that aims to retrofit an existing dwelling.

After the competition, win or lose, its final home will be the innovation campus in Wollongong, where it will be permanently housed as a living laboratory, simulating living conditions in the house. As Niccol puts it: “We see the need; we are trying to make a difference. We are not sitting around waiting for politicians to do something – we are making a change ourselves.”

The house will be open to the public April 23-28. More: illawarraflame.com.au    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/solar-renewal-in-the-suburbs/story-e6frg8io-1226611687319

April 4, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | New South Wales, solar