Dedication of DesertSol at its new home at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve

On Thursday February 13th, 2014 I was fortunate enough to participate in the dedication of DesertSol at its new home … here is a link to start your look at DesertSol https://www.springspreserve.org/explore/desertsol.html

…and here is a link to the original site for the the house that I helped the Students at UNLV built http://solardecathlon.unlv.edu/

DesertSol the University of Las Vegas Nevada (UNLV) entry into the US Department of Energy’s 2013 Solar Decathlon competition is a 754-square foot NetPositive Solar-Powered home. DesertSol was created and built by a multidisciplinary team from UNLV as a model of sustainability in the periphery of the Las Vegas Valley. This ultra-efficient home showcases commercially available innovations in sustainable home design including technology, energy, material and lifestyle choices relying on the power of the sun as its fuel source. At the Springs Preserve the home is connected to the electrical grid, yet part of the goals of the competition were that the contestant homes be designed in such a way that they could be independent of the grid if necessary and typically would be able to contribute to the grid to ultimately be net positive.

The home was built on a UNLV site then disassembled into two modules to be moved to Irvine, California and reconstructed for the competition. Happily it is now a permanent exhibit in the Botanical Garden at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.

The one-bedroom, one-bathroom home features:
Solar Photovoltaic panels as well as Solar Thermal panels
Water efficient Low-flow fixtures and a multipurpose water system that combines plumbing and fire sprinklers
Remote access to WiFi networked temperature controls
Strategic window placement to promote cross-ventilation
A custom screen along the outdoor deck that filters sun in the summer and retracts to allow warmth from the sun in winter

Described as one of the finest examples of sustainable living on the planet, DesertSol earned second place overall in the 2013 Solar Decathlon global competition. Team Las Vegas was the only U.S. team to place in the top three of the prestigious 2013 Solar Decathlon competition in Irvine, California.

Daniel Huard, Humann Building Solutions Principal was Senior Mentor to the Project Team, part of his ongoing commitment to furthering the Green Building movement.