Living Light

UT Solar Decathlon / Team Tennessee

UT Solar Decathlon / Team Tennessee

—national geographic

2011 Solar Decathlon Competition / Team Living Light

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 is an international competition

held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for interdisciplinary student-led

teams to design and build solar-powered, energy-efficient homes. This year,

Team Living Light of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is one of just 20 competi-

tors selected to participate in this prestigious event. In less than two years the teams

will compete against each other to design and build a home that will be judged

for its excellence in ten categories: Architecture, Market Appeal, Communications,

Engineering, Affordability, Comfort Zone, Hot Water, Appliances, Home Entertainment

and Energy Balance. Each category is worth about 100 points.

The winning team produces a house that:

—Is affordable, attractive, and easy to live in

—Maintains comfortable and healthy indoor environmental conditions

—Supplies energy to household appliances for cooking, cleaning, and entertainment

—Provides adequate hot water

—Produces as much or more energy than it consumes.

3D rendering of living light home

p r o b l e m c o n t e x t p r o c e s s s o l u t i o n s| | |

This written component of our Case Study focuses some of the architectural,

engineering and Communication aspects of the competition.

Our website: www.livinglightutk.com explains the full systems of the house in

more detail.

The 6 goals of our Communications Team are to:

1) Provide input during the Architectural Design phase

2) Create a name and appropriate identity for the Living Light home.

3) Raise the necessary funds ($850,000!!) to build and transport the house to Washington, DC.

4) Develop a website and other communication materials to explain all aspects of the project to the general public

5) Generate excitement and increase awareness for the project through social media sites as well as events on and off campus.

6) Communicate the benefits of using Solar Energy to the surrounding community.

Overall Goals

living light team


Interdisciplinary Student Project

UT’s Team Living Light involves more than 200 students from 7 departments across

campus including the College of Architecture and Design, the College of Engineering,

the College of Business Administration, and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Working together, these students and faculty have developed a design for an easily

transportable 800 square foot house for the competition. All students are considered

on equal footing with the rest of the students and have the opportunity to provide

input into all aspects of the house design—from the Architectural plans and

Engineering to Business Administration and Communications. The teams have

overlapped numerous times during the ongoing phases of the project. While

teachers are on hand to help facilitate, the project is driven by student ideas, and

realized through their talents and skills.

Over the course of the past year and a half there have been 28 Graphic Design

students from 3 separate classes involved in Living Light.

Graphic Design:

Graduate Team Leaders:Jarred ElrodBuck Kahler

Undergraduate Team Leaders:Samantha Ownby Nicole CookseyBen Frederick

Undergraduate Team Members:Dena AnschutzFaith BargerTrista BuschLauren CarrigCaitlin CourtleyGreg FrankJessica GosneyTylor LoposserSarah LuscombeThinh NguyenSonam PatelTim PoeJaneane RobinsonToby ThomasAmy PriceJaclyn SalemDiana LowrieSean LeaderNicole CookseyHarrison VincentTommi SharpTaylor Dudney

Jacob Schneider

energy

envelope

climate

interiors

landscape

building

buildingintegration

teams

industry

rules &regulationsmanagement

team

communicationteam

finance team

fabricationand assemly

team

marketviability

team

budget

fund-raising

[ phase 2 ]

design implementation committee

constructionmanagement

team

team diagram


Overall Timeline

HOUSE DESIGN — January 14, 2011

This part of the project has been completed and a 1/25 scale model was displayed in

Orlando, Florida at the United Home Builders Show for five days in January.

Construction begins in an off-campus warehouse in February, 2011.

CONSTRUCTION COMPLETION — July 1, 2011

Once the home is fully assembled, the Living Light team will move their focus to the

details of the functionality of the home. The home control system will be installed at

this time so we will begin testing our systems. Finishing the home this early provides

us with 2 months to not only perfect the systems in the home but also practice the

competitions and tours before being on the National Mall.

BEGIN TRANSPORTATION TO WASHINGTON, D.C.— September 10, 2011

The steel also doubles as the chassis of a lowboy double drop highway trailer, allowing

the home to be easily transported in one volume to Washington, D.C. for the competi-

tion and to future events. In early September, the gooseneck and bogey of the highway

trailer will be connected to the home, temporary bracing secured, and facades

protected for the drive to Washington, D.C. where the home will meet about 20

students ready to begin assembly on the National Mall.

SOLAR DECATHLON 2011 COMPETITION —September 13 –October 5, 2011

September 13th marks the beginning of 7 allotted days for assembly. The Solar

Decathlon homes will be set up between 7th and 14th streets on the National Mall.

During this time, team Living Light will assemble the deck module, plantings

and attend to various details within the home. On September 22, all assembly will be

halted and the 10 days of judging will begin.

TENNESSEE VALLEY TOUR – 2012

At the close of the Solar Decathlon Competition, the Living Light house will be used as

a tool for education, outreach, and continued research. One of the primary aspirations

of the team from the start was to take the Living Light house on tour through Tennes-

see to demonstrate sustainability, energy-efficiency, and emerging technologies to the

public. The house will also be used as a laboratory by the team and its collaborators,

collecting data, testing new applications of technologies, and demonstrating their

capabilities.


What are our Communication Objectives?

Identify potential donors and sponsors through alumni and industry lists

Fundraise for Solar Decathlon Project

Educate the general public about sustainable architecture

Champion the education of students at UT

Demonstrate what UT brings to general public : economy and industry

Connect Living Light with other solar initiatives in TN

Showcase new technology and research with industry new systems

PRIMARY:

— Donors & Sponsors

— Industry + Business Partnerships / Building and Technology

— UT Community

SECONDARY:

— Citizens of TN

— Potential Homeowners

— Future UT students : K-12 teachers and students

TERTIARY:

— TN politicians

— General alumni/ professionals in

Architecture, Engineering and Design firms

Solar energy / Harvesting the suns energy

Maximizing Transparency and View

Living compactly

User control of Light, View and Ventilation

Leaving a small footprint

Flexible spaces

Interdisciplinary project, studio based learning collaboration

Living/learning community

Origin in Tennessee

Who is our audience?

What are our key themes?


What are our tactics?

Determine milestones

Define key messages and identify student presenters

Present to local and regional Organizations

Promote special events : ribbon cutting at prototype, arrival of structural frame

USGBC- presence on campus 6/18/2010

Media sponsorships with local news stations

Tech 20/20

Contact chancellor’s associates

Contact Knox County Alumni Chapter

Set up social media outlets and determine strategies for engagement

Gather list of environmental bloggers

Promote the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Capitalize on Special events: Football Games, Destination Imagination, etc.

Produce “In Progress” videos

Leverage the Solar Decathlon reputation

Contact Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America to establish a “Solar Energy” badge

Media news/TV stations

—Knox News Sentinel / Beacon / Metropulse / UT TV / Torch Bearer / Alumnus

Quest / Pursuit / Chancellor’s Report

—WVOT (Matt Powell) Dialogue/lunchtime monthly shows

—Industry publications/ professional organization newsletters / Higher education

journals / ORNL Review / TVA Newsletters

Building industry conferences + Builders Shows

AIA, AIGA, USGBC, CSI, ASID, IIDA, ASLA + engineers

Websites: UT, CoAD, Solar Decathlon Project website

Social media- facebook, twitter, flicker, vimeo, youtube

Al Gore organization, current TV

Alumni publications

Make Orange Green website

Environmental blogs

UT football program / Jumbotron

Scripps /HGTV/DIY Homeshows

Board of Trustees

Local Rotary/businesses

Economic development groups / East TN economic council

Governor’s office

What are our media outlets?


January 11 – March 16. 2010 Name selected Proposal Developed

March 16. 2010 Proposal Boards due Begin Branding Exploration

April 6. 2010 Teams selected by DOE

June 20. 2010 Logo system and brand direction defined

July 10. 2010 Begin fundraising campaign

August 1. 2010 Fundraising video completed

August 18. 2010 Website / initial page approval Social media sites in place

September 6. 2010 Campus Banners

August 21. 2010 –January 11. 2010 Collateral materials to gain exposure Fundraising events and presentations Populate website with content

January 11. 2011 Scale Model due Website 90% complete

What are our Communication deliverables and key dates?

What is our unique selling proposition to the general public?

January 14 – 17. 2011 Conference and meeting in Florida

January 18 – March 1. 2011 Second round of fundraising materials Finish populating website sections

February 10 – May 10. 2011 Development of interior and exterior signage Interface for house automation system

April 25. 2011 Project Summary Due

June 30. 2011 Entertainment materials completed

August 1. 2011 Public Exhibit Materials Completed

August 8. 2011 3-5 minute video walkthrough completed

September 9. 2011 All on site signage completed

You can make money off your house.

Make Orange green.

Green Design is good Business

How are we different from the other houses? 360 ° apart from the others or 180° difference

Doublewide goes on the road.

Living light as Educational Tool


House Design / Vernacular Inspiration

Our house design builds upon traditional building strategies and the history of energy

research in the state of Tennessee. Learning from buildings of Southern Appalachia,

the dogtrot house and cantilever barn, we were inspired to incorporate daylight,

natural ventilation, and adaptability to natural conditions.

The Living Light house challenges the idea that energy-efficient housing must be a

solid, highly insulated volume, maximizing exterior glass walls and daylighting within

the home. All systems pursue passive design solutions and incorporate active

technologies only when necessary. For example, the airspace within the exterior glass

walls of the Living Light house can act like a greenhouse to warm the home in winter,

or when ventilated, buffer against the summer heat.

cantilever barn

HOT COLD

ENERGY RECOVERY VENTILATOR

72 F

30 FNORTH SOUTH

HOT COLD

ENERGY RECOVERY VENTILATOR

90 F

72 F

NORTH SOUTH

cooling and heating modes

House Design /Smart Systems


Similarly, the trellis-like tubular solar array works with the reflective roof to produce

electricity from direct and reflected sunlight as well as shading the roof and walls.

This rooftop array employs a cylindrical module, so that sunlight is captured across

a 360° photovoltaic (PV) surface while maintaining a low profile. This allows the array

to function at its full potential in any location. The cylindrical shape offers a few other

benefits as well. The space between cylinders enables light to pass through the panel

to a reflective white rooftop, permitting diffuse and reflected light to be captured on

the under side of the PV. The wind load on the roof is reduced due to the spaces as

well. The entire system is designed to be equally at home on the roof of the Living Light

home or as a retrofit to existing structures.

House Design /Using the suns energy

benefits of cylindrical module by solyndra

reflected light

diffuse sunlight

direct sunlight


House Design /Structural Design

One of the defining ideas for the Living Light house was for it to be a single entity to mini-

mize assembly on site. It is designed to be easily transportable, integrating the trailer

system into the fabrication of the home. The steel structural frame is a demountable

chassis of a low-boy double-drop highway trailer with temporary foundations supporting

the main transportable volume. The temporary foundations are steel screw jacks

permanently attached to the structure. The jacks will be spaced and sized to evenly

support the weight of the chassis over uneven terrain.

structure attached to trailer

steel structural frame


1/24 scale model of living light

As a concept, Living Light embodies simplicity and the multiple aims of touching

the earth lightly, leaving a small environmental footprint, maximizing light and space, and

relying entirely on solar power.

longitudinal section drawing

House Design / Model


Identity Design

The logo is comprised of a mark and a logotype. The mark is both gear and sun,

which refers to the mechanical power of the sun and signifies the idea that people can

work together with nature to support the planet. In the logotype, there is evidence

of the major concepts of the house: do more with less; be functional and modular.

The ligatures coupled with the use of repetitive linear forms visualize these ideas using

letterform parts. In addition, the stroke weights and round terminals add flow and

subtly refer to the tubular photovoltaic panels in the roof array.

logotype

marks and color palette


Information icons

Our modular home makes use of component systems with the ability to enhance the

energy efficiency and sustainability of simple strategies. Complexity is only added when

necessary. After unpacking the many ideas encompassed in LIVING LIGHT, the team

agreed on 6 underlying themes that dictated the design of the home. In addition to other

contexts, these information icons will be used on location to explain, and connect, the

various systems and identify their located in the house.

6 main concept icons

1. Maximizing transparency and View

The Living Light team created an energy

efficient living area connected spatially and

visually to the landscape outside. This was

achieved by using fixed aerogel panels on the

north, moveable thermal shades on the south,

and multipanel glazing throughout.

2. Living Compactly

The Living Light home is intended as a retreat

from the visual and physical clutter of the

information age while integrating technology

seamlessly into the design. The floor plan

organizes support spaces into two dense

cubes of program, framing the open living

space in between.

3. Harvesting the Suns Energy

Like the leaves of a plant, the integrated

rooftop array provides energy and shade for

the home. The 9kw array employs a cylindrical

module so that sunlight is captured across a

360˚photovoltaic surface.

4. Controlling Light, View and Ventilation

The north and south facades incorporate inner

and outer glass panes with motorized shades

and horizontal blinds sandwiched in between.

Operable panels allow outside air to be

admitted when humidity is acceptable.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

5. Leaving a Small Footprint

In addition to producing its own power, the

house touches the land lightly and is

designed to take advantage of sustainable

materials and construction methods.

6. Space Transforms With Function

Two cores organize the daily rituals of life.

The millwork of the public core can be entirely

closed to hide its function, while a kitchen

island accommodates from 2–8 people. The en-

tertainment center acts as a footboard, defining

the space of the bed when in use, and folding

out to become a desk when the Murphy bed

is stored.


QR Codes

QR is the abbreviation for Quick Response, as the creator intended the code to allow

its contents to be decoded at high speed. A QR Code is a specific matrix barcode

(or two-dimensional code), readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera

phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white

background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data. We generated

a QR Code for our Living Light home that contains the url of the website. As long as you

have a smart phone with a QR code app (free and downloadable), you can shoot a

picture of the code and it will link automatically to our website.

the living light qr code

badge design Girl Scout / Boy Scout Patches

TENNESSEE VALLEY TOUR – 2012

One of the distinguishing features of the house is that it was designed to be

transportable. Therefore, at the close of the Solar Decathlon Competition, the Living

Light house will be used as a tool for education, and outreach as it tours the state.

Among other plans, one outreach strategy we are implementing is the design of a “solar”

badge program for girl scouts and boy scouts of Tennessee.


7-minute Documentary Video

Our main goal for the first 8 months of the project was to raise $850,000 to build

and transport our house to Washington D.C. In order to accomplish this, we developed

a short documentary video that we could show prospective donors to help explain the

long hard journey to get into the Solar Deacthlon competition. We hoped that by hearing

about the competition from the many student and faculty participants, we would inspire

our audiences to support their Tennessee Team. Like everything, the video was student

produced. A short version is available on our home page: http://wwwlivinglightutk.com

video screen captures


Team T-shirts

These t-shirts were printed using photochromic ink, which is pigment

that is activated by UV light. The text has an light outline that fills in with dark

blue when worn outside in the sunlight.

living light t–shirts


Website / www.livinglightutk.com

We designed our website using Wordpress so that a number of team members could add

or change content regardless if they knew html or not. This creates a dynamic site and

more closely reflects the nature of this interdisciplinary project. It also helps us populate

the site with information quicker than if we only had one or two people who had access.

We purposely did not use flash so that site would be fully viewable on an ipad which we

plan to use on the site in D.C. as information signage.

The use of Social Media is an important aspect of the site given that one main goal

of the competition is to generate excitement and educate the public about process of

designing and building a 100% Solar efficient home. One unique feature of the site

is the shifting of the background color every two hours, moving from lighter to darker

as midnight approaches. To view go to: http://www.livinglightutk.com

living light website


Website


http://www.livinglightutk.com

MEMPHIS

NASHVILLE

KNOXVILLE

CHATTANOOGA

TRI-CITIES(Bristol, Johnson City, Kingsport)

210

204

208

214

200

Information Graphics


sunlight across the state in 2010

potential of solar energy

[ one hour of sun ] [ one year of energy ]

0 365 days

LIVING LIGHT TEAM:

MULTIDISCIPLINARY

MORE THAN 100 STUDENTS

8 DEPARTMENTS ACROSS CAMPUS

39+ARCHITECTURE

4INTERIORDESIGN

7BUSINESS

2LANDSCAPEARCHITECTURE

10ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

1CIVIL ENGINEERING

28+GRAPHICDESIGN

29MECHANICAL ENGINEERING



student numbers



Outside Exhaust

mechanical diagram

electrical diagram

Print

Part of the campaign to raise money was the design of a poster that on one side

was a poetic statement about our project and on the other held pragmatic information

for donors and sponsors. The poetic side suggests that by overlapping our natural

resources with technology we can generate green, sustainable ways of living

and working.

poster / mailer—side one


Results to Date

To date we have reached our goal of raising the $850,000 needed to design, build and

transport the Living Light to D.C !

poster / mailer—side two

R01-2721-002-001-11

UT

Sol

ar D

ecat

hlon

/Te

am T

enne

ssee

Green • $100,000 & plusInvitation to Public Unveiling and Exhibition and speaking engagements

Invitation to project events, collaborations, and celebrations

Invitation to reception with students and VIPs in Washington, DC

Graphic web link from Tennessee Solar Decathlon website

Company logo on construction site banner

Company logo included on all printed materials

Company logo on member t-shirt

Private Tour of Construction site in Knoxville

Invitation to Sponsor’s Recognition Dinner with student team

Research Involvement with SD Living Light Team

Orange • $50,000–$99,999Invitation to Public Unveiling and Exhibition


Invitation to reception with students and VIPs in Washington, DC




Prominent Company logo on team member t-shirt

White • $25,000–49,999Invitation to Public Unveiling and Exhibition





Blue • $1,000–24,999Invitation to Public Unveiling and Exhibition




S P O N S O R S H I P L E V E L S

KEY ASPECTS OF LIVING LIGHT:

2011 University of Tennessee Entry

Our design, the Living Light house, builds upon traditional building strategies and the history of energy research in the state of Tennessee. From the traditional buildings of Appalachia, the dogtrot house and cantilever barn, we were inspired to incorporate daylight, natural ventilation, and adaptability to natural conditions.

Many features of the Living Light house combine these low-tech solutions with high-tech components. For example, the airspace within the exterior glass walls of the Living Light house can act like a greenhouse to warm the home in winter, or when ventilated, buffer against the summer heat. Similarly, the trellis-like tubular solar array works with the reflective roof to produce electricity from direct and reflected sunlight as well as shading the roof and walls.

As a concept, Living Light embodies simplicity and the multiple aims of touching the earth lightly, leaving a small environmental footprint, maximizing light and space, and relying entirely on solar power.

Help us Showcase Tennessee’s Expertise in Green Design by Supporting the Living Light Team.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 is an international competition held in Washington, D.C. for interdisciplinary student-led teams to build and design solar-powered, energy-efficient homes. Team Living Light of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is one of just 20 competitors selected to participate in this prestigious event!

UT’s Team Living Light involves more than 100 students and faculty members from the College of Architecture and Design, the College of Engineering, the College of Business Administration, and the School of Art as well as other programs. Working together, these students and faculty have developed a design for an easily transportable 800-square-foot house to be viewed and judged on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in October 2011.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National

Renewable Energy Laboratory, the global competition

challenges students from around the world to design and

build functioning, marketable, solar-powered houses.

Although the Solar Decathlon began in 2002, this marks the

first time the University of Tennessee, Knoxville will compete,

and the first time for a Tennessee university. Our team is

competing against such universities as Purdue University,

Ohio State University, the University of Maryland, as well as

teams from universities in New Zealand, China, Belgium

and Canada.

The efforts of UT’s students and a strong proposal landed Team Living Light in the 2011 Solar Decathlon. Now the real work begins! We want to fully execute our design and represent the University and Tennessee proudly! On our path to success, and a hopeful win, we are asking for your help.

How To Help

The Living Light house provides an unprecedented opportunity to highlight Tennessee’s historic role in energy production and conservation. It also allows our students to share knowledge about energy efficient construction and the benefits of living green to a wide variety of audiences.

As a development platform, the Living Light house allows us to explore partnerships with industry to create new products that can be manufactured and marketed to benefit the state and future green-living.

We invite you to be a part of the Living Light team. Fielding a successful project entry is a complex undertaking. From hard hats to solar panels, truck rentals to furniture, it takes significant financial support to compete.

We know we have a winning design; but we need contributions from like people like you. Whether you choose to be a corporate or individual sponsor, we greatly appreciate your support!

For more information on becoming a Living Light Sponsor or to schedule a presentation, please call the College of Architecture and Design Development Office at 865.974.0974 or visit http://livinglight.utk.edu and go to the Donate / Sponsor section. You can e-mail us at [email protected]

GREEN DESIGN IS GOOD BUSINESS

*Printed on 100% post-consumer paper manufactured using

certified renewable energy.

Harvesting the

Sun’s Energy

User Control

of Light View

& Ventilation

Leaving a

Small Footprint

Space Adapts

in Service of

Function

Living

Compactly

Maximizing

Transparency

& View

For sponsorship questions contact:

Tierney Bates Director of DevelopmentCollege of Architecture and Design The University of Tennessee, Knoxville [email protected] Volunteer Blvd Knoxville, TN 37996-2400


Living Light

Documents

solar energy

communications team

living light home

graphic design students

winning team

college of engineering

architectural design

light homeprob