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October 24, 2007
As returning two-time champions, University of Colorado may have been a little disappointed with their seventh-place finish.
One of the most visible innovations was the bright orange shipping container. Once a shipping container is used, it frequently is left behind. The team decided to use an abandoned container to build the core of the house. Within the core was housed the main living space, the kitchen, bathroom and mechanical systems. The idea was that bedrooms are additional pieces that can be added onto the central "spine" as needed.
The team already has designed a 1,400-square-foot add-on to the existing structure, explained Sam Mason, a student team member. This addition will be added once the home returns to Colorado. The team's home and addition were purchased by Xcel Energy.
Colorado used a different solar strategy than most of the teams this year: a BIPV roof system. "SolRif is a Swiss framing system that allows the solar-panel array to be a watertight shell over the roof -- so you don't need shingles," said Jon Previtali, a team member. "The way it works is that the frames that come standard with the solar panels are removed by A.G. Schweizer, the maker of SolRif, and new SolRif frames are glued on the PV laminates (the glass part of the panel). The SolRif frames hook to each other in the horizontal direction and the frames allow the panels to lay over each other like shingles in the vertical direction." The system can be powder-coated with whatever color suits the design. Colorado used an 8.8 kW array of SunPower panels with the SolRif system.
Below the panels, a water-tube network was installed. Water flowing through these tubes helps to cool the PV panels. The tubes absorb the heat generated by the panels and then transfer that heat/hot water into the holding tanks for use as temperature control.
A water-to-water heat pump strategy was used for the HVAC system. The tanks and mechanics themselves were hidden in the mechanical closet, however the copper piping, used to radiate heat into the living space, was visible. The team used an artistic array of copper piping as a divider between the kitchen and living space. One tank was for hot water and the other was used for cold. They were heated as needed by heat exchangers on the backs of the PV systems.