Solar Blog

On Sunday evening at 5pm, immediately after tours ended, we started to disassemble the ENMAX Solabode.  My team and I met to listen to Matt’s game plan, and assign jobs.  That night all of the solar panels were removed, and the interior was mostly packed away.  People walking by took our plants, and mulch.  Overall, we made great progress, and had a very late night.

My team, meeting to discuss how to disassemble our house

On Monday I woke up mighty early, and was on site at 7am to begin a 15 hour day.  There were about 15 of us working 15 hours a day, and some people worked 20 hours a day, and had 3 hours of sleep a night.  By the end of the second day the roof was removed and all interior components were packaged well and stored in the shipping container.  Myself, along with Sam, Helen, Alex and a few others took on the task of organizing the contents of the shipping container.

Working late into the first night

Packing up the sofa and other interior components

On Tuesday — day 3 — the modules of the home were starting to be moved onto the trucks for shipping.  The guys, and Kim, stayed ridiculously late that night to make sure 2 modules made it on to the truck.  It took all day to move the first module onto the truck, with the rail system, because finicky mishaps kept popping up.

Moving the parapets off the top of the house

Kim, Alex, Myself & Sam

On day 3 — Wednesday — we arrived on site to see the core module on a truck, and ready to be shrink wrapped.  The men from the shrink wrap company waited around for us, for hours, to be ready to do their job when needed; they were incredibly kind and pleasant to talk to, and shared a dinner with us.  On the 3rd day I was exhausted, and ready to be done.  It was hot out that day, which was a nice change from the rain over the past week, but the sun was too much for me.  I curled up in a ball beside our shipping container for a few hours and slept; eventually I called it a day, and slept at the hotel.  At around 8:30pm Alex rang the bell to our door; she burst in and announced we were done, and we went out for a group dinner.

I am extremely proud of the ENMAX Solabode, not only because I have an emotional attachment from the long hours and energy I have contributed to its success, but also because of the general reaction from the public.  I can’t even count the amount of time someone has said that our house was their favorite, or that they could see themselves living there.

We had approximately 1200 people through our home on some days during public tours.  There were long line-ups, and I’m sure it was worth the wait.  The lovely lady in front, in the orange shirt is Stephanie; was was assigned to our house to help people through the line.  She did a great job, and even joined in  some of our group events after hours.

Front Exterior View During Public Tours

Our Solar Decathlon Laison - Stephanie

There are 4 main areas of the ENMAX Solabode, which are very well separated and defined, which is why, I think, so many people like our home.  The home provides privacy for personal activities, and a social space for social activities.  The first space you enter into is our vestibule, which showcases the mechanical closet, control panel, and keyway.

Front Entrance

As you go to the right, past the keyway, there is a corner window, which provides a striking view of the mall, and our fellow decathletes.  The front hallway flows into the kitchen a living room.

Private Tours Through the Living Room

The above picture shows the flexible sofa on the left hand side, a tv that lowers then stores in the island, and the galley kitchen with energy efficient appliances.  All lights are LED’s, which are energy efficient and provide a colour rendering similar to daylight.  The lighting is soft, indirect and beautiful.

Bedroom and Office

The bedroom and office flanks the other side of the bathroom, and flows well from the other spaces when all interior doors are open.  The murphy bed folds up, turning a private sleeping space into a social and exercise area.

Last night my team and Team North (B.C. and Ontario) celebrated our success and hard work at the Canadian Embassy.

The Team at the Canadian Embassy

My team finished in 6th place today for the Solar Decathlon!!!  We have surpassed the record for previous Canadian teams in 8th place.  I am incredibly proud to be representing Alberta, and the four institutions involved with the ENMAX Solabode and especially Mount Royal University.  The hard work, and sacrifices made by my team members and myself over the past two years have paid off.  Placing within the top ten, and a hair away from the top five is well deserved, and an important stepping stone for future Alberta teams.

Group Photo Outside House

This morning, bright and early, was the announcement of the winners for the Solar Decathlon.  Congratulations to Team Germany for earning 1st place.  Everyone who participated in the Solar Decathlon deserves recognition, and a “prize”, for the accomplishment of designing, building and then showcasing a solar home on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

Today, Saturday and Sunday tours will continue, and be ended by the start of deconstruction.  At 5pm on Sunday evening my team and I will start the last marathon of our project.  I’m looking forward to being done the deconstruction, then having a day to relax with the team before we fly home.

On Monday evening, the ENMAX Solabode hosted a dinner party for three of our neighboring teams.  Culinary students from SAIT prepared the dinner; it was fantastic!  We enjoyed a three course meal, including fruit wrapped in prosciutto, lamp, chicken, mashed potatoes, and sticky toffee pudding…. YUM!

All of our guests seemed to have a great time, for the conversation was continuous, to the point we had to be notified we were running out of time, and needed to finish eating.  In addition, the atmosphere/ambiance was beautiful.  The table had vases with gerber daisies, place mats, cloth napkins, plates made by Jen Somerville, and was surrounded by beautiful pendant lighting.

The table setting

Myself and Shal

Other Solar Decathlon team members

Culinary students from SAIT

The past week has been incredibly busy, invigorating, exhausting, frustrating, challenging and rewarding all together.  I woke up at 4am, and was on site at around 5am for 8 days in a row, to help construct the house.  We divided up into 3 shifts, all approximately 10 hours long, and had people working every second of the day, for 8 days.  Most people stayed for at least 12 hours every day, and some people stayed up to 24 hours in one stretch on site.

Today the competition started.  We weren’t able to compete for the first few hours because of delays with inspections, but eventually started competing at noon.  On our first day we had an opening ceremony, VIP tours, and a team get-together in the house in the evening.

Team Alberta with our Canadian flag at the opening ceremony. This picture appeared on the CBC website yesterday!

As I was anxiously awaiting my first round of visitors for the bedroom tour this afternoon, I had a rush of excitement, and almost cried for joy.  I was so proud, and excited to be at the Solar Decathlon.  Our house is absolutely stunning!!!  So many people touring the ENMAX Solabode today said it was their favorite, and they could picture themselves living there.  These comments speak volumes and I am hoping give a reliable prediction to our success in the competition.

In particular, our bathroom is tranquil, unique and STUNNING!

Bathroom of the ENMAX Solabode

Myself and my team have been on the National Mall in Washington D.C., USA for 2 days now.  When I say days, I am referring to all 48 hours of those days!  We have about 35 people working in 3 shifts, for 24 hours a day.  We each do about 12 hour shifts, and a lot of people stay beyond their required shift time because they are so determined and passionate.

The View from out Site... very impressive!

I’ve taken on the job of site organizer.  I’m really enjoying it, because people keep commenting on how helpful it’s been, and I simply love organizing.  I’ve set up 2 tables, with bins to organize all the tools.  I’ve been keeping it organized with Delorice, who is on the shift after mine.  Today we set up a “tent” with scaffolding, plywood, and plastic wrap; I was very impressed with our improvising.  It was forecast to rain tonight, so it was imperative that we find a solution to protect the tools (hence the scaffolding).

The ENMAX Solabode in shrink wrap, waiting to be pushed along the rails into place

All of our modules are in place (4 pieces of the home), and as I was leaving the site at five this evening, the roof was being assembled.  The group of guys on the roof with harnesses today, putting up the post and beam was very impressive.  They are doing a fantastic job!!

I’m anxious to go back to the site tomorrow, to see the progress over the past 12 or so hours.  Time for bed now!

Today myself and most of the team flew to Washington, via Texas.  As we  waited for our boarding call at six in the morning, everyone seemed to be wondering where the house was, if it was going to arrive safely, and if there had been any problems at the border.  Given everyone’s concern, it’s incredibly apparent that the group of people we’ve brought to Washington are going to do a great job putting the house together and showcasing it for the competition.

Putting the house back together is going to be an enormous and exhausting task.  Five days of physical labor for 11 hours a day is not my normal routine, but there are individuals on the team who seem very physically prepared for the challenge, because of the super-human amount of hours they put into constructing the house.  I’m really looking forward to the challenge, of being a runner/inter.  I am focused on the exciting end result when I get to put the finishing decorative touches on the house with Helen.

Myself, Ryan and Marc with our team in the airport in Calgary at 6am.

On Friday we held public tours of the ENMAX Solabode.  The night before I was there briefly, then hurried home to work on an essay.  The difference to the house and the tent between the night before, and the day of the event was incredible!

It was taken aback when I stepped into the tent; chairs were set up for an audience; a podium was in front of the home on the deck with signs and a sound system.  The interior was the most impressive.  The DIRTT walls are now fully installed, and most of the millwork is in place.  The flooring is 99 percent done!  It is starting to feel like a home, that I am very proud to be a part of.

Mike giving a tour of the kitchen.

Now that the interior is to its current state of completion, I will order shelves to attach to the DIRTT walls, and print and frame Andrea Walker’s photographs.

The other outstanding issue is the headboard.  eeek.  I was on the phone diligently last week, looking for the best price and fastest delivery for  Brisa Fabrics – Ultrafabrics, which is supplied by J Ennis Fabrics in Calgary.  The fabric should be arriving on Thursday, at which time I will bring it to Simmerings Upholstery to be made into a headboard.  The murphy bed, which was custom made, has already been built and installed; it is patiently waiting for its finishing touches such as linens from Riva\’s the Eco Store.  I’ve selected a douvet cover and pillows by Amenity which they supply.  I just need to call Riva’s today to find out their hours, so I can pick-up the linens before the end of the day tomorrow.

The Murphy Bed folded up - it needs finishing touches