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2009 Cornell Solar Decathlon "Nugget" - Bruce Land, CUSD controls team advisor

The Solar Decathlon is an international, interdisciplinary design-build competition hosted biennially by the U.S. Department of Energy. Twenty college and university teams compete to design, build and operate the most attractive, effective and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The final judging competition this year took place October 9-13 & 15-18, 2009, on the National Mall in Washington, DC. This year Cornell placed seventh in the competition.

A description excerpted from the CUSD web page summarizes the appearance of the house: "The 2009 Cornell University Solar Decathlon House engages sustainable, modular design with a unique assembly of circular and orthogonal elements, formally similar to the vernacular architecture found in upstate New York. The house is composed of a central square courtyard surrounded by three conditioned "living" cylinders with a rectilinear array of photovoltaic panels floating above the entire structure. The open courtyard serves as the focal point of the house, defined by perimeter columns and a photovoltaic canopy as an independent cube. The adjoining cylinders - bedroom, kitchen, and living room - direct views to the central courtyard.  The solar house combines bold aesthetic features with creative sustainable applications. The cylinders are inspired by industrial agricultural materials, employing a CorTen corrugated steel cladding and exposed steel beams on the interior. The house takes advantage of solar gain from the steel envelope through an innovative skin-integrated solar thermal system that pre-heats hot water. To allow additional diffused light and to promote stack ventilation, each cylinder has two operable Velux® skylights." (http://cusd.cornell.edu/house/extdesign.php)

ECE students worked on several systems in the house including the power control system, entertainment system, and HVAC. The diagram below summarizes the systems. More detail is available at http://cusd.cornell.edu/house/conteff.php  and is excerpted here: "A central home server links home automation, security, and entertainment together in a single seamless unit. This server, located in the home's mechanical closet, monitors all electrical switches, window shades, and the home's alarm system. The server also acts as a media hub storing music, HD movies, and more. mControl Server Software, by Embedded Automation®, allows for real-time control over all aforementioned systems from one of four outlets: two wall-integrated touch panels (mPanels), a flat-panel television in the living room, or remotely on an iPhone. From all outlets, one can stream music to each room independently, open skylights or windowshades, or turn the alarm system off from virtually anywhere in the house. The television connected to the Home Theater PC is a 46" Sony VE5 Eco Series LCD HDTV featuring a proximity sensor that turns the TV off when the user is not in the room. A handheld keyboard and gyroscopic mouse allow full control of the computer from up to 10 feet away. Silo House is smart too; when the occupant leaves the house, all the lights are turned off, shades adjust their position based on time of day, and each dedicated circuit can be controlled remotely just in case someone forgot to turn off the stove before they left. "

Three Cornell ECE undergraduates and four ECE MEng students were involved in designing, building and installing the systems shown above. Erik Dawe (MEng 2008) was the controls team leader until he graduated. The leadership position was taken over by undergraduate Jeremy Blum. Samuel Sinensky was a undergratduate software specialist on the controls team and Matthew Ferarri worked on the HVAC team. MEng students Wei-jiunn Jang, Roshan Joy Jacob, and Aakanksha Singh each worked on specific design projects listed and linked below.

ECE staff

1. Bruce Land -- engineering controls team advisor

ECE Undergraduates:

1. Jeremy Blum -- engineering controls team leader
2. Samuel Sinensky -- engineering controls software specialist
3. Matthew Ferarri -- engineering HVAC

ECE MEng:

1. Erik Dawe -- engineering controls team leader (until graduation).
2. Wei-jiunn (Vic) Jang - Control system for skin-integrated solar thermal system.

http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu//courses/eceprojectsland/STUDENTPROJ/2008to2009/wj67/wj67/index.html
--Roshan Joy Jacob - Control system integration
http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu//courses/eceprojectsland/STUDENTPROJ/2008to2009/rjj42/index.html
--Aakanksha Singh - iPhone interface to the house.
http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu//courses/eceprojectsland/STUDENTPROJ/2008to2009/as2267/index.html

For more information see: