[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 22610]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN SOLAR HOME IN SOLAR DECATHLON 2005

 Mr. REED. Mr. President, from October 7 through October 16, 
2005, the National Mall will be transformed into a solar village. The 
Solar Decathlon 2005 will showcase 18 solar homes designed, built, and 
operated by university teams from across the United States as well as 
Canada and Spain. Each of the university teams chosen for the decathlon 
competed in 10 contests that measured the aesthetics and livability of 
the solar homes as well as their capacity to provide lighting, heat 
water, and run household appliances, including a TV, refrigerator, and 
computer. Each team demonstrated the ability to power an electric car 
from the energy harnessed by the solar home--an important achievement 
in this day of skyrocketing fuel prices. I am proud that the Rhode 
Island School of Design, known as RISD, is among the 18 participating 
teams in the Solar Decathlon.
  The first Solar Decathlon, held on the Mall in 2002, received more 
than 100,000 visitors. The decathlon, sponsored by the U.S. Department 
of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, aims to 
educate policymakers and the public about alternative energy sources to 
improve building design and quality of life. The competition motivates 
participating teams to use cutting-edge solar technologies, renewable 
materials, and energy-efficient building principles so that these 
features will become part of the mainstream of home design.
  RISD's solar home is a team effort on the part of more than 60 
students and seven departments from both the Rhode Island School of 
Design and Brown University. The team was led by architecture faculty 
members, William Yoder and Jonathan Knowles. These students worked for 
2 years on the production of an environmental and energy-smart home 
design while taking classes specifically geared toward this end. Last 
week, they transported their solar home to Washington, DC, for assembly 
on the National Mall.
  The principle behind RISD's design is to incorporate high-tech solar 
technologies with low-tech materials that increase energy efficiency. 
Through this combination, the students illustrated that designers and 
homeowners do not need to be well-versed in complex technologies to 
incorporate solar into their homes. Furthermore, many of the materials 
used in the RISD solar home, while having high insulation values, are 
reclaimed--an effort on the part of the Rhode Island team to reduce 
construction waste.
  As a design school, RISD was concerned about the attractiveness of 
the materials and design principles, which will improve the 
marketability of solar home features. Function and aesthetics led the 
team to incorporate both a roof garden and a louvered skin. The 
louvered skin is adaptable, so as to reflect heat during the day and 
keep in heat during cold nights. Moreover, the skin provides 
``chameleon-like'' color variations and graphics that add to the home's 
artistic style as it tracks the cycle of the sun. The roof garden 
brings an element of tranquility to the home's design but is also a 
smart use of space for a home designed for an urban setting where a 
lawn is hard to find. This element is one that illustrates the team's 
goal to blend the boundary between home and environment.
  The Rhode Island team also created a home that is adapted to its 
surroundings. Since the home was designed as an urban dwelling, it uses 
a north/south orientation, allowing for the home to receive ample 
lighting if serving as a townhouse between adjacent homes. The RISD 
team took into account the expansion of its townhouse style to a 
community scale. With the addition of mirrored or identical units, the 
entire lot would collectively become more energy efficient. 
Furthermore, the variations in how these modules fit together would 
create open spaces that provide a private haven when juxtaposed against 
an urban backdrop.
  The Rhode Island team applied great effort to the design of the 
``mechanical core'' that runs the heating, cooling, plumbing, and 
electricity of the house. Centrally located, this unit minimizes the 
need for ducts and piping throughout the home, thereby increasing 
energy efficiency throughout the structure. RISD's house is so 
efficient that it produces enough reserve energy from the sun that it 
will be able to power a car.
  Upon conclusion of the competition, several teams will offer the 
homes that they designed and built for educational or living use. The 
RISD students intend to transport their solar home back to Providence, 
RI, where it will serve as an example of smart building design for the 
community.
  The Solar Decathlon offers an opportunity to witness first hand the 
ingenuity of the participating teams and the innovative solutions 
available to Americans to reduce our energy demand and propel us on a 
cleaner and sustainable energy path. Visitors to the solar village will 
be able to tour each of the 800 square-foot homes and ask the students 
questions regarding their solar design and technology choices. 
Workshops are scheduled throughout the week for visitors to learn how 
to incorporate into their homes both active and passive solar energy, 
improved energy efficiency technologies, and biobased products. My 
sincere congratulations to the Rhode Island team for a job well 
done.

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