Ames Lab, Energy Sponsor By Chelsea Reynolds

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1 House Notes April 2009 Issue Two SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT Ames Lab, Energy Sponsor By Chelsea Reynolds The U.S. Department of Energy s Ames Laboratory has claimed its spot as the ISU Solar Decathlon team s largest sponsor. Even in these tough economic times, the Lab has mustered $55,000 to assist the decathlon team in its creation of the Interlock House. Consequently, the lab is also the ISU Decathlon s sole Energy Sponsor, a title earned by contributing more than $50,000 to the team. Though the Ames Lab and the ISU Solar Decathlon team share the U.S. DOE as a common progenitor, Dr. Alexander King, director of Ames Lab, says far more commonalities unite the two organizations. The real reason we ve made the donation is because we re interested in anything any technology that helps reduce the environmental impact of humans, King said. The Interlock House, in particular, will contain a lot of new technologies and new materials. For more than 60 years, Ames Lab has carried out its mission to solve global challenges through innovative science, research and engineering. Today, its donation helps the ISU team do the same. The lab s financial support has allowed the team to purchase the Interlock s costly solar panels, as well as other construction materials. King sees ISU s participation as a distinction in its own right, but hopes the team will focus on the functionality and practicality of the Interlock House. It s possible to build a house that is extremely efficient and takes care of itself, King said. But the real skill is in doing that in a manner that is both cost effective and amenable to an ordinary household maintaining the home. King also hopes for the opportunity to tour the home with U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu upon its completion on the Washington Mall. Just like the ISU Solar Decathlon team, King is dreaming big. Photo courtesy Ames Lab January Media Day, Open House Web Cam News workshop renderings TEAM PROFILES Sponsor Spotlight: GosOLAR Support Interlock

2 January Media Day, Open House By Melissa Sander The ISU Solar Decathlon team officially kicked off construction of the Interlock House with a two-day media and open house/ribbon-cutting event that drew a number of local media outlets as well as the public, project donors, and Iowa State University faculty and officials. The media event, held Friday, January 30, and coordinated by Teddi Barron of ISU News Service and communications project manager Melissa Sander, was well attended by a number of local media outlets looking for more information about the ISU Solar Decathlon project and the Interlock House. Standing on the floor of the soon-to-be abode, architecture project manager Jennifer Ross, student leader Keihly Moore, project engineer Tim Lentz, and construction project manager Aaron Brncich led a presentation and answered a number of questions detailing the competition, market viability, architecture, engineering, and construction of the Interlock House. Media present for the event included WHO-TV, the Ames Tribune, Ames365, the Iowa State Daily, and videographers and photographers from Iowa State University and the ISU College of Engineering. Same-day interviews were also done by WHO Radio and Radio Iowa. The ISU Solar Decathlon team thanks these media for their coverage and support of the project. Want to see the stories? Check out the News & Media section of our website at On Saturday, January 31, 2009, the ISU Solar Decathlon team welcomed its sponsors and the public to the Interlock House indoor construction site for an open house and ribboncutting event showcasing their innovative architecture, internal systems designs, and modular construction. Guests were invited to learn about the Interlock House and to see the ground floor of the structure. Numerous posters, product samples, architectural models, and diagrams detailing the Interlock House were set up around the construction area for guests to look at while team leaders and project managers were available to answer questions and offer in-depth explanations of the project. More than 50 guests visited the Interlock House indoor construction site on January 31. Photo by Clark Colby

3 CONSTRUCTION CAM DRAWS INTERNATIONAL CROWD By Chelsea Reynolds The ISU Solar Decathlon team is the first U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon team to feature a live feed of the construction process. The real-time video is relayed via webcam to the decathlon website in an effort to foster community engagement with the Interlock House. We hope that the webcam will allow visitors to better connect with the project, said Eric Berkson, the team s IT coordinator. A large problem with the Solar Decathlon project has been its relative intangibility. We hope that giving a window into the day-to-day working of the project will encourage visitors to get involved by telling a friend, visiting us at one of our public presentations, or making a donation. Since its February installation, the webcam has already increased web presence for the decathlon site. As of March 31, 2009, the live feed has been viewed nearly 1,700 times by people from 11 countries and 41 U.S. states. The most exciting part of having the camera operational is that it provides us with continually changing web content. Since the frequency with which content changes determines how often visitors will revisit a website, having content which essentially changes in real time will encourage frequent repeat visits, Berkson said. Though the camera feeds data to the website all day, every day, viewers should note that construction only occurs when student building teams are on site. To watch live construction, check the camera 2-5 PM Tuesday, 5-8 PM Wednesday, or 3-9 PM Thursday. All hours are Central Daylight Time. The team thanks Iowa State University Facilities Planning and Management for donating the AXIS 2120 Network Camera. The internet connection and bandwidth required for live video streaming are made possible by ICS Advanced Technologies of Ames. To watch the construction of the Interlock House, visit

4 Workshop Depicts Details of interlock house Rendering by Jason Arnold Looking through native plantings, this south-side view shows the sun porch shaded by sun-tracking louvers, the photovoltaics and evacuated tubes for heating water on the roof. This south-side view shows the greywater system on the far east side, as well as the movable louvers that shade the windows. The louvers have integrated thin PowerFilm that collects more of the sun s energy. Rendering by Kiel Uhl

5 Meet the Team! Tim Lentz: Project Engineer, Graduate Student in Mechanical Engineering Why are you interested in Solar Decathlon? The Solar Decathlon seemed like a great way to be involved with solar power. I soon realized that there were many solar technologies and practices that are renewable and save energy. These lesser known sources of renewable power really drew me in and I have been really excited to incorporate them into our system design. Developing something new and useful really keeps me motivated and interested in the project. Photo by Clark Colby What do you hope to gain from Solar Decathlon? I hope to gain a lot of experience and knowledge that will be useful in a future career. Renewable energy and sustainability are going to become more and more important in the future and being a part of the Solar Decathlon is a great way to start being involved in those fields. I also really hope we can promote Iowa State as an institution and everything that we have to offer here at the university. I d like for everyone to see the strengths that all the different departments have shown. What motivates you to be green? Just knowing that we only have a finite amount of resources available on this planet keeps me motivated. With those resources dwindling, it s really not even a choice anymore to be green. It s quickly becoming a necessity for everyone to become greener when it comes to energy usage, efficiency, and responsible use of materials. I m hoping that the publicity generated through the Solar Decathlon can help promote sustainable practices and greener sources of energy to the general public. Jennifer Ross: Architecture Project Manager, Graduate Student in Architecture Why are you interested in Solar Decathlon? When the opportunity to work on the Solar Decathlon project arose, it seemed the perfect chance to actually demonstrate how green technology and methods can be implemented in a real project. The Solar Decathlon has given me the opportunity to combine several passions of mine (design, education, and communication), work on a daily basis with many different disciplines and professionals, help educate the public and my peers on the newest green technology, and let homeowners know about how they can be a part of creating a greener home. Beyond this, how many chances do you have to compete on an international scale on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.? What do you hope to gain from Solar Decathlon? Above all, I will gain an incredible respect and understanding of my colleagues, in architecture, engineering, and otherwise. My communication and managment skills will continue to develop as we have all realized how incredibly important these skills are to a successful project. I hope to gain a better perspective on how to realistically build a passive-solar home and what it takes to complete a project, beginning to end. Of course, expanding my knowledge of sustainable technology and techniques is an undeniable benefit from working on this project as well. What motivates you to be green? I feel that I have a civic duty to use my knowledge and skills to help create a greener environment in every way possible, whether that is through education or designing sustainable buildings. I am motivated by the ever-increasing cost of energy, disappearing virgin land, and the waste created by constructing and using inefficient buildings. I am motivated to be green in order to create a healthier planet for my future children and by the idea that we can all be more efficient, use less, and be healthier. Being green is a lifestyle that I hope can resonate through my work and every part of my life.

6 SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT GoSolar, Sun Sponsor By Chelsea Reynolds After graduating from Iowa State University in 1976 with degrees in economics and accounting, Dennis Pottratz spent more than 10 years working for four separate Fortune 500 companies. He eventually grew tired of the corporate lifestyle, abandoning it to find a job that didn t require a suit and tie. It was on a trip through Alaska in 1991 that Pottratz discovered people living off of solar energy. Five years and one applied environmental technology degree later, GoSolar was born. The company located in Decorah, Iowa designs, sells and installs solar electric and small wind energy systems. As GoSolar s founder and president, Pottratz heads all business endeavors, including its donation of more than $27,000 to the ISU Solar Decathlon team. He wants his sponsorship to help the group raise environmental awareness and responsibility. We want to see this industry grow. We want to see people have a greater consciousness of how they are using energy. We want them to utilize renewable energy, Pottratz said. Though GoSolar does not manufacture any products, it works to provide consumers with the products and services they need to lead environmentally efficient lifestyles. As the business does very little advertising, Pottratz hopes his support of the ISU Solar Decathlon team raises word-ofmouth awareness about GoSolar and other environmental liaisons throughout the state. I m really happy to see Iowa State get involved in the Solar Decathlon, Pottratz said. I think if we can start coming up with great ideas, energy-efficient living gets closer to becoming a reality to families in Iowa. Photo courtesy GoSolar Photo courtesy GoSolar

7 Support Sustainability: Invest in interlock The Iowa State Solar Decathlon Team s fundraising efforts for 2009 are off to a good start. Construction began with a well-attended open house on January 31 at our building site on Southern Hills Drive in Ames. In recent months, team members have given presentations at various Rotary Clubs of Iowa, the Allied Group, Polk County Conservation, and the Iowa State University Sustainability Symposium. To check out where we ll be next, see our schedule of upcoming events, or visit our web page, As this activity proves, excitement about our project continues to grow, but the team still needs your financial help! Our project budget is currently more than $680,000 for everything from house construction, salaries for student project managers and research costs, to transportation for the house and students to Washington, D.C., and communication and publicity materials required as part of the competition. The Department of Energy has provided each school with a start-up grant of $100,000 and we have raised more than $400,000 in additional cash and in-kind donations, but we are still short of our goal. As construction progresses, cash donations are the best support you can offer. Many companies have provided the team with valuable in-kind donations of free or subsidized construction materials, equipment and new technologies, but we still need cash to complete the project. This money will be used to purchase items such as doors, windows, appliances and lumber, many of them at significantly reduced prices. We also need funds for travel and accommodations related to the event in Washington, D.C. Please consider becoming a supporter of the ISU Solar Decathlon team with a cash gift of $50, $100, or more. Our donor website has all the information you need to make a pledge, Sincerely, Chelsey Olsen Fundraising Coordinator Thank you to our newest sponsors! City of Ames Electric Mr. David Durland Global Reach Mr. and Mrs. David and Barb Hurd Juno Lighting Lighting Analysts, Inc. Schneider Electric For a complete list of sponsors, visit

8 DID YOU KNOW? Some fun facts about the Interlock House project: ,000 Approximately 75 students from a variety of academic departments have dedicated their time and energy to advancing sustainable technologies with the Interlock House. A number of faculty about 17 are involved in the project and advise and mentor students. Students and faculty participate from 11 different departments across the Iowa State campus. The Interlock House budget is around $680,000, which includes in-kind donations, transportation of the house to and from Washington, D.C., and graduate assistant salaries. WANTED Great products for a great house! An in-kind donation will get your company national recognition! Support the ISU Solar Decathlon team with a gift of: Steel Fabrication Duct Work Appliances Trucking Services Wiring Roofing Materials Visit our website to find out more about sponsoring the team: Iowa State Solar Decathlon Team 156 College of Design Department of Architecture Iowa State University Ames, IA