CONCORDIA ENGINEERING STUDENTS UNVEIL THEIR FIRST SOLAR HOUSE

September 16, 2005

Source: Concordia University:
http://publicaffairs.concordia.ca/mediaroom/pressreleases/2005/09/004899.shtml

CONCORDIA ENGINEERING STUDENTS UNVEIL THEIR FIRST SOLAR HOUSE

MONTREAL/September 16, 2005 —

Concordia team only Canadian entry among 18 competitors

http://www.solardecathlon.org

http://www.canadiansolar.org

– This morning, members of the Canadian Solar Decathlon team, made up of Concordia engineering and communications students, unveiled The Northern Light - a self-contained solar house designed and built by the students, in cooperation with students from the architecture program at l’Université de Montréal.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony took place on the Loyola Campus (7200 Sherbrooke St. West), next to Athletics Complex. In attendance were Concordia’s new President, Claude Lajeunesse (himself an engineer by profession), representatives of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) and other sponsors of the event.

Montrealers are welcome to visit the house this afternoon, to see how far solar technology has evolved. The Canadian Solar Decathlon Team strongly believes that it is possible to build and operate zero-energy solar homes today, even with the challenges of the Canadian climate, and its objective is to educate the general public and future building professionals about the benefits of sustainable solar building design.

Through research and education projects such as the Decathlon Solar House, the Government of Canada, in
partnership with other levels of government, industry and academia, is demonstrating its commitment to
building safe, healthy and sustainable communities.

The house will be the only Canadian entry in the Solar Decathlon Competition, a week-long event that will take place in Washington, D.C. from October 7 to 16. The competition is presented by the U.S. Department of Energy, its National Renewable Energy Laboratory and several private-sector companies.

The teams will transport their competition solar houses to Washington, where they will construct a “solar village” on the National Mall. The teams will compete in 10 contests that range from architecture, livability and comfort to how well the solar homes perform in providing energy for space heating and cooling, hot water, lights, and
appliances. Each solar house must also power an electric car.