Note: Corrections to the Affordability Contest results were announced Sept. 30, 2011.

Proving that the cost of “going green” is decreasing, two teams tied for first place in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 Affordability Contest. Parsons The New School for Design and Stevens Institute of Technology (which includes Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School) built Empowerhouse for less than $230,000. Purdue University’s INhome came in at just less than $250,000. These teams earned 100 points for achieving a target construction cost of $250,000 or less, as evaluated by a professional cost estimator.

Results of the Affordability Contest were announced today in the solar village. Team Belgium (Ghent University) received second place in the contest, with its E-Cube, which was priced at $251,147. In third place was The Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology’s CHIP, which was estimated to cost $262,495.

“These 2011 teams have shown that solar houses can be affordable while still being innovative,” said Matt Hansen, Affordability Contest juror.

The Affordability Contest has had an impact on the design of Solar Decathlon competition houses. Compared to Solar Decathlon 2009 houses, the Solar Decathlon 2011 houses are estimated to cost 33% less. 

Carol Anna is the communications manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

Construction of the solar village on the National Mall’s West Potomac Park continued today, as student teams worked throughout the day and night to assemble their competition houses for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011.

While always a top priority at the Solar Decathlon, safety is particularly important during this seven-day construction phase. At today’s daily team meeting, Lee Ann Underwood, Solar Decathlon safety officer, praised the following teams for their excellent safety practices:

• New Zealand (Victoria University of Wellington)
• Tidewater Virginia (Old Dominion University and Hampton University)
• Canada (University of Calgary)
• Parsons NS Stevens (Parsons The New School for Design and Stevens Institute of Technology)
• The University of Tennessee.

As of this meeting, 12 of the 19 team houses had passed their foundation inspections, with the University of Tennessee and Team China (Tongji University) leading in the number of building inspections passed.

Unfortunately, only part of Team Massachusetts’ house has arrived. The team members expect the rest of the house to arrive tomorrow.

A member of Team Massachusetts demonstrates good humor while standing in the empty lot where her team house will be assembled. (Credit: Carol Anna/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

The truck carrying the foundation footings for Florida International University finally arrived, and the team was busy today setting the foundations.

Michele Markovits, project engineer for Florida International, couldn’t say enough good things about neighboring teams, whose generosity included Parsons NS Stevens, who helped by buying gas for their generator; Tennessee, who helped charge a battery and accepted safety glasses in return; and Appalachian State, whose loan of surveying equipment helped the team set its foundation footings.

Michele Markovits, project engineer for Florida International University, and other team members work on the foundation footings for their house. (Credit: Carol Anna/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

“Our fellow teams have been so generous, They’ve shown truly great sportsmanship,” Michelle said. “It’s important to all of us that we make it to the finish line.”

Carol Anna is the communications manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

From left: Joel Towers, executive dean, Parsons; Dorothy Douglas, Deanwood resident; Sheila C. Johnson, board chair, Parsons; Sylvia Brown, ANC commissioner; Deputy Mayor Victor Hoskins; Kent Adcock, president and CEO, Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C.; Michael Bruno, dean, Stevens Institute of Technology; Neil Grabois, dean, The Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy at The New School (Courtesy of Lisa Bleich)

Saving energy to save money—it’s a simple yet effective strategy that can greatly benefit families faced with the variable, often high costs of utility bills. It’s a goal made all the more significant to the Parsons The New School for Design and Stevens Institute of Technology Solar Decathlon team because the houses they design and build will serve as future residences for two families in the historic Deanwood community of Washington, D.C.

We’ve highlighted the efforts of this team—a collaboration of hundreds of students and supporting faculty from Parsons, Stevens Institute, and Milano the New School for Management and Urban Policy—here on the Energy blog before. While the team is hard at work completing construction of its house for the upcoming Solar Decathlon competition, it is simultaneously working with Habitat for Humanity to start construction of a second house in Deanwood. Post-competition, the two homes will join together as a duplex, providing affordable and energy-efficient residences for the community. The team officially broke ground on the project Wednesday.

In addition to students and faculty, community residents, civic leaders, and government officials were on hand at the groundbreaking to support a goal to “create something that had a life beyond the [National] Mall,” said student team member Amanda Waal. “Bringing Deanwood and Habitat for Humanity into the discussions surrounding the Solar Decathlon has been very important to us,” she added.

Like every Solar Decathlon team, the Parsons and Stevens Institute team has its sights on winning. Yet, even more, its goal is to demonstrate the benefits of energy-efficient design not just for the Deanwood community but also for the nation.

“Changing housing in America—that’s really what we want to do as part of this competition,” said Joel Towers, dean of Parsons.  

The team’s strategy of using energy-efficient design principles to keep energy bills at the bare minimum for the long term is already catching on. Habitat for Humanity is applying the team’s standards to six new townhouses in the Ivy City neighborhood of D.C., while other Habitat affiliates have expressed interest in replicating the formula in neighborhoods across the country. 

“This is part of a much larger picture, and a lot of that picture is being drawn by our young people,” explained Michael Bruno, dean of Science and Engineering at Stevens Institute. “We’re going to change the world one step at a time.”

Solar Decathlon 2011 will take place Sept. 23 through Oct. 2, 2011, at the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C.

Erin Pierce is an energy technology program specialist for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 

Editor’s Note: This entry has been cross-posted from DOE’s Energy Blog.

In honor of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon—which challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive—we are profiling each of the 20 teams participating in the competition.

To kick things off, we spoke with Amanda Waal, architecture student and primary student contact for Empowerhouse—a joint venture between Parsons The New School for Design, Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy, and Stevens Institute of Technology. 

The Empowerhouse design model (Courtesy of Lisa Bleich)

The three-school team is jointly based out of the schools’ Manhattan and Hoboken campuses and  has partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C., and the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development to build a passive house that will require 80% less energy for space heating and cooling than an ordinary home.

The team’s design, which it has aptly dubbed Empowerhouse, will actually consist of two homes that the team began designing during the fall semester of 2009. The first is a 1,000-ft², one-bedroom home with a 300-ft² accessible roof garden, which will be showcased at the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., this fall. A second home will be constructed in partnership with Habitat for Humanity in the D.C. neighborhood of Deanwood, located in the District’s Ward 7. At the conclusion of the Solar Decathlon, the house on the National Mall will be moved to Deanwood, expanded into a two-bedroom unit, and joined with the second unit to create a two-family home.

Although each unit is designed to be sustainable on its own, the house will achieve peak energy efficiency when joined together. Amanda told us that the team’s ultimate goal is to bring its knowledge of energy-efficient building technologies to create a new model for Habitat for Humanity.

“This is an incredible project—we’re actually making a home for a family to live in. This is an opportunity that most students in our fields would rarely get to experience,” she told us. “Being able to partner with the Deanwood community and Habitat for Humanity has been really rewarding.”

Empowerhouse team member Obinna Elechi (right) speaks with a Deanwood community member (Courtesy of Sharon Farmer)

At the same time, the team’s innovative community-based approach to the competition means it also faces unique challenges. Amanda said that although the team is excited about the house’s eventual placement in Deanwood, it is also experiencing real-world challenges homebuilders face every day. The team must take into account neighborhood and city codes, and the design must be able to withstand the stress of being built on the National Mall, taken apart, moved across town, and then reconstructed in its neighborhood with its second half—all while still retaining its ability to function effectively as an energy-efficient home.

For more information about the Empowerhouse team, visit its Web site or official Facebook page.

April Saylor is an online content producer and contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Public Affairs.