WELCOME TO OUR BLOG!

Join us as we experience the last phase of the Solar Decathlon 2011 Competition! The CONSTRUCTION phase!

 Today, June 30th the steel cages were delivered to the site and the whole team is very exited to begin with the construction of the Perfom[D]ance House.

Half of the Steel Frame arriving to FIU

Meet Luis, Alvaro and Manny as they welcomed the Steel Frame to the job site!

We have T-shirts!

Our T-shirts arrived today!  To celebrate...  

Our Team

Summer Schematics

Decathlon studio begins!  


We'll select our team leaders and our main areas of contribution --and then we'll get to work:  We need to produce a Schematic Design Manual and a Preliminary Cost Estimate.  Our first deliverables are due impossibly soon:  May 4th.  Didn't we just have final reviews?? 


The good news:  Field Trip!  Schematic Design Workshop ahead --in Washington DC

SD team

First day....!

We have a SITE on the National Mall!

It's Final Review day, but we barely have time to focus on everything that's due.   Instead,  Decathlon is what's on everyone's mind --and we're off to a fast start!!  


Yesterday we were randomly assigned 4th choice in the site selection process for the Mall.  So at 10:45 AM today [EST] we had 15 minutes to choose any spot we wanted along Decathlete Way.  


And.... We chose Lot 102!  


We're going to be at the East end of the promenade, with northern and eastern exposures to public view.  We're also just in front of the Smithsonian Castle.  It's a cool site!


MORE:  


... For communication over the next 18 months with the competition organizers, we have to join a Yahoo group.  We now have a Yahoo ID and an account --just for FIU.

Byron Stafford at NREL told us that our model made it through the shipping process to Colorado beautifully in March!  Kudos to Manny and Andy who made that happen! 


Even MORE:


There will be a Schematic Design Workshop [to review our first Decathlon deliverable] in May --in Washington DC.  We'll get to meet all the competing teams and the Decathlon organizers!


PLUS:  All the boards and models of the 20 selected finalists will be on display in a special exhibit at the National Building Museum.


Whew!  Amazzzing....!

We're FINALISTS!!

We're going to Washington in 2011 !!!


Second hurdle cleared!!!  Professor Nepomechie was just notified that we're one of only 20 teams around the world chosen to participate in Solar Decathlon 2011!!  Go FIU!!!!


Final reviews are coming and we have a ton to do, but what a GREAT way to end the term. 


Kickoff conference call with DOE, NREL and all the competing teams:  
14 April 2010, 3:00PM.  [1:00 PM Mountain Time --they're based in Colorado] 


We all have to join a group on Yahoo for all team information and communication from now till the competition in 2011.


This is getting real, folks... 

IT'S OFF!

Repro took forever to print and mount our board !  Ever notice how everything seems to take   longer when you're in a hurry?   

We changed it a million times, but here's the final board as submitted



























And here's the model.............  
The FIU PerFORM[D]ance House is born!

FedEX took forever, too --and they were SO was glad to get rid of us!




Notice the time on the wall clock????  That's 7:50 PM:  10 minutes to closing




March 15, 2010




(L-R) Marilys, Andy, Roberto and Manny at the Coral Gables FedEX.  Exhausted!

This is SPRING BREAK???

Well, it's officially Spring Break, but we have a ton of work to do!   Our conceptual design models and revised drawings are due at NREL on March 16th!


All finalists and all faculty advisors --and anyone who wants to help!!-- are coming together to make revisions to the chosen project, to build a new model, to revise the drawings, revise the cost estimate... 


We have special permission to use the computer lab and laser cutter even though it's officially closed for the break.  The package needs to go out, at the latest, on Monday March 15.  


No sleep for anyone! 


March 13, 2010