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Teri Nagel, College of Architecture
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Georgia Tech Solar House Opens at New Tellus Museum
Oct. 10 "Solarbration" event will feature activities and tours.
Atlanta (September 21, 2009) — The Georgia Tech Solar Decathlon House will re-open its doors at the new Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum in Cartersville, Ga., at the “Solarbration” Grand Opening Event on Saturday, Oct. 10. The 800-sqare-foot house runs completely on solar power and was designed and built by a team of Georgia Tech faculty and students for the United States Department of Energy’s 2007 International Solar Decathlon Competition.
The Solarbration is open to the public with regular museum admission, or free for Tellus members. From 10AM to 6:30PM, visitors can tour the Solar Decathlon house with Georgia Tech’s “Solar Decathletes” who helped design and build the House. The event also will feature new planetarium show, “Heart of the Sun” (planetarium ticket prices apply), access to the observatory and telescopes for solar viewing and learning activities like ultra-violet bead making and demonstrations in biofuels and alternative energy for cars.
At 7PM, visitors will have the chance to hear about the design and construction of the Solar Decathlon House from architect and Georgia Tech instructor Lane Duncan.
Tellus became the new home with the help of Green Habitats, Inc., an organization that promotes sustainable building by supporting research and educational programs to design and build housing that conserves water and energy. “We chose Tellus because it will attract a high number of student visitors,” said Lie-Nielson. “This will provide an excellent outreach program for Green Habitats scholarships and for Georgia Tech recruitment.” Green Habitats became the official Steward of the Georgia Tech Solar Decathlon House after the competition, and plans to continue to fund more projects like the Georgia Tech Solar Decathlon House that add more comprehensive research and education on what is possible through sustainable energy.
“If we can implement eco-consciousness at the design stage,” Lie-Nielsen explains, “the builders will follow these designs.” This means the students of architecture and engineering schools should have access to projects and resources that lead them to think in terms of sustainable construction and green systems. Thus, the catalyst of the Green Habitats agenda”support the students who will design and build a sustainable tomorrow.
About the Georgia Tech Solar Decathlon House
The Georgia Tech Solar Decathlon House is a high-tech house of light inspired by the paradox of “lightness” and “energy conservation.” The house converts sunlight into at least 3,600 watts of electricity, supplying its daily energy needs with the capability to store solar energy for future use or sell it directly to the power company. The rooftop panels can be tilted to take best advantage of the most extreme angles of sunlight in winter and summer, and the building’s hot water comes from special tube systems, which can heat water as high as 200 degrees. More>>
About the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum
The 120,000-square-foot Tellus Northwest Georgia Tellus Museum is located in Cartersville, Ga. near I-75 at exit 293. A 120 seat, digital planetarium observatory, a replica of the Wright Flyer, an 80-foot-long Apatosaurus dinosaur and interactive exhibits explaining how the earth moves and changes are just a few of the museum’s exhibits that aim to educate and fascinate all ages with science. The museum is set to surpass projected attendance this year, with 145,000 visitors since its opening in January. More>>
About Green Habitats
Green Habitats stands committed to promoting sustainable building by supporting research and educational programs to design and build housing that conserves water and energy. The organization offers scholarship programs that benefit undergraduate students who dedicate their careers to protecting the Earth’s resources and conducts its own research and development for water-monitoring and conservation technology. More>>
The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the nation's premier research universities. Ranked seventh among U.S. News & World Report's top public universities, Georgia Tech's more than 19,000 students are enrolled in its Colleges of Architecture, Computing, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Management and Sciences. Tech is among the nation's top producers of women and African-American engineers. The Institute offers research opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate students and is home to more than 100 interdisciplinary units plus the Georgia Tech Research Institute.
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