UTC Solar Decathlon Team

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About the Solar Decathlon Team

UTC's Solar Decathlon team won the semifinal competition becoming one of worldwide top 10. The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition that challenges college students worldwide to design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings that mitigate climate change and improve our quality of life through greater affordability, resilience, and energy efficiency. The winners are those teams that best blend architectural and engineering excellence with innovation. We will be competing at the final stage in April at Colorado.

History, Mission & Vision

"Dr. Sungwoo Yang, an assistant professor in the Civil and Chemical Engineering department of University of Tennessee Chattanooga founded the solar decathlon team of UTC in July 2019 inspired by his renewable energy research program at UTC.[1] In 2021, Dr. Yang expanded the team by recruiting Dr. Seong-Dae Kim in the Engineering Management Department and Dr. Eun-Young Kim in the Interior Architecture and Design department at UTC as faculty advisors. We plan to recruit more key members from other departments at UTC and local building industries in upcoming years.

The mission of UTC Solar Decathlon team is to provide opportunities for students to gain hands-on experiences and unique training on energy-efficient building sectors, which help students be future workforces for clean energy research. The vision is to build energy-zero houses in Chattanooga in the upcoming years by participating students, external mentors and external sponsors."

Learn more about the Solar Decathlon competitions
https://www.utc.edu/sites/default/files/2022-03/solar_decathlon.pdf

10 Contest Categories

Team must do well across all contest to win

Energy Performance
Engineering
financial Feasibility and Affordability
Resilience
Architecture
Operations
Market Potential
Comfort and Environmental Quality
Innovation
Presentation

Why Participate?

Develop critical career skills
Learn from experts and peers
Gain valuable insights from world-class thought leaders
Showcase the future of high-performance building design
Get hand-on experience and unique training for preparation to enter the clean energy workforce
Be a part of multidisciplinary teams

Projects - Solar Decathlon Competitions

2019-2021 Initiating UTC Solar Decathlon Team

Faculty advisor: Dr. Sungwoo Yang

Students members: Nicholas Daniels (student lead), Hannah-Rose Margavio, Marcquis Mikes, and Daron Lyons

Result: Not able to participate DOE's solar decathlon competition due to lack of materials to compete.

2021 UTC Solar Decathlon Project - Moc House (in progress)

Faculty advisors: Drs. Sungwoo Yang (lead), Seong-Dae Kim, and Eun-Young Kim

Students members: Kaid Balck (student lead), Chase Berta, Blaine Lindsey, Daron Lyons, Melanie Basil, Lorin West, and Chelsie Ewing

Industry mentors: Mary Opalka

Result: Global top 10 finalist teams advancing to the final round of the 2022 Design Challenge[2]

The UTC Solar Decathlon competed in the urban single-family residential division. The objective of this project is to design a net zero single-family home that is flexible to changes in home versus work life and can evolve with the ever-changing climate, ultimately emphasizing functional design while addressing the local design guidelines of the Saint Elmo historic district. The Moc House was marketed toward the expanding Chattanooga population of young professionals. The area has seen an influx of people from larger urban areas because of its booming start up scene and lower cost of living. We have incorporated amenities for those working from home with 2 possible office spaces and an air sealed building envelope to reduce outside noise. The lot is located in St. Elmo historic district of Chattanooga Tennessee in a 100 year flood zone with a category 4a mixed humid climate. The homeowners can save up to 40% on home heating and cooling costs by reducing the amount of energy used through passive design. With our significant reduction to loads and our total yearly salary generation we were able to knock down our HERS score without PV of 48 to 66 with PV. We are also able to calculate the building EUI, approximately 18.6.

UTC Solar Decathlon will be competing in the final stage of the competition in April, 2022.

2022 UTC Solar Decathlon Project - TBD (planned)

Faculty advisors: Drs. Eun-Young Kim (lead), Seong-Dae Kim, and Sungwoo Yang

Students members: Daron Lyons (more students will be recruited by faculty advisors)