Santa Clara University Partners with Avago on Solar Decathlon LED Lighting Project
April 23, 2007Santa Clara University has selected Avago Technologies to provide the LED lighting components needed to illuminate the Solar house they are designing for the Solar Decathlon being conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar_decathlon/) that will be held in Washington, D.C., Oct. 3-22, 2007.
Santa Clara University, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, is among the 20 college and university teams from around the globe selected for this year’s Solar Decathlon Competition (for a complete list of participants see http://www.eere.energy.gov/solar_decathlon/teams.html). Each of the selected teams will receive a $100,000 grant paid over a two year period to support the research goal of reducing the cost of building solar powered homes and advancing solar technology. The actual cost of the project is more than $600,000.
According to the DOE the teams must design and build energy-efficient homes that are powered exclusively by the sun to compete in the Solar Decathlon. The homes must be attractive and easy to live in. They must also build a house that maintains a comfortable temperature, has hot water, attractive and adequate lighting, and can power household appliances for cooking, cleaning, and home electronics.
“With an eye on energy efficiency, students must carefully choose the systems, products, and appliances used in their houses,” says the DOE.
The teams will compete in 10 contests in honor of the ancient Decathlon competition, using only solar energy to power a modern 650 square foot house. The students’ work will be judged on architecture, engineering, market viability, communications, comfort zone, appliances, hot water, lighting, energy balance, and getting around.
The Santa Clara University Team led by James Bickford and faculty advisor Dr. Timothy Hight selected Avago Technologies high-brightness low wattage LED lights for the solar house that they are building. The Santa Clara team includes 43 undergraduate engineers (20 mechanical, 15 electrical, 5 civil, and 3 computer), and 2 designers responsible for collateral materials.
“It’s great to have a great technology partner, like Avago technologies, in our area to support this project,” Bickford said. “The Santa Clara University solar house will use a holistic and environmentally conscious design approach to produce a contemporary architectural solution using highly efficient and sustainable systems and materials.” See figure 1 for an artist’s rendition of the house.
Actual construction on the house will begin shortly with an expected completion date in early summer. The house will then the sent by truck to National Mall in Washington DC where the actual Decathlon will take place October 3 – 22, 2007.
Commenting on Avago’s participation in the Solar Decathlon, Rene Helbing, Chief Scientist, Solid-state Illumination Division, said “It’s an honor to be a part of this project to provide our innovative low wattage LED lighting solutions. We’re proud to be able to provide the Santa Clara University team with the lighting solutions that will enhance their chances of winning the competition.”
