University partners with TVA for contest

TENNESSEE - The nation's largest public power company, the Tennessee Valley Authority, is offering its energy expertise to University of Tennessee students hoping to get a leg up in an international competition to make the most appealing and energy-efficient house.

The 850-square-foot house packed with energy-efficient appliances and a cutting-edge automated system to control lighting and electricity will be on display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., next summer. It will compete against entries of 19 other teams that made it to the final round of the competition.

The team with the most creative, marketable and efficient house will win the 2011 Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon, an event held every other year.

For UT, it's an opportunity to showcase the state's commitment to renewable energy research and industry, including recent solar partnerships between the state and the university. For TVA, it's a chance to benefit from the research and contribute to a better work force for the utility in the future.

TVA has "been instrumental in advising us and really being an open-book resource to us on their lessons learned from past projects and a wealth of knowledge in home design," said Amy Howard, the project manager and a recent graduate of the master's of architecture program.

She said TVA also will likely be part of a statewide tour of the house that will include education on how conservation can save families money.

Finding sources of renewable power and power from clean sources — along with helping families lower their monthly bills — are all part of the renewed mission of TVA, said spokesman Mike Bradley.

"They're after the same things we are, and we're really pleased to be part of the project," said Bradley. "We are looking at some of the challenges and getting involved in some of the solutions with students in the competition to provide expertise. It will help up develop a workforce for future engineers who will hopefully work for TVA."

The team includes students from the colleges of Architecture and Design, Engineering, and Arts and Sciences and local business partners who are offering sponsorships, materials and expert advice.

The team built a 250-square-foot prototype after raising $50,000 in support on its own. Now it will build the full-scale house in a warehouse off Middlebrook Pike and then assemble it on the National Mall this summer.

UT's entry has been dubbed the "Living Light House" and will cost between $350,000 to $400,000.

The project will hopefully lead to stronger partnerships and perhaps new projects with the different companies and industries involved and can also be used as a recruiting tool for the university, Howard said.

But mostly, she said, she hopes to bring recognition to the state.

"It brings a lot of attention to the state of Tennessee, and we have partners on board willing to help us and interested in the research and topics we're interested in," she said.

"That makes a statement about Tennessee, and with our goals for solar energy and other energy efficiencies, it's important for us to be a part of this research and get information out there and spread the word and inform and educate our fellow Tennesseans."