Skills WORKSHOP Residential AC efficiency Desert features showdown! Aussies take on the world in Dubai Solar Decathlon Fridgies around the world Hundreds of nations, one occupation October 2018 / ISSUE 116 PRINT POST APPROVAL NUMBER PP 727272/60606 FREE Feature DESERT SHOWDOWN! The Desert Rose House will have to cope with Dubai’s daily November highs of around 31°C and generally high humidity. DESERT ROSE A team of students from the University of Wollongong are on their In 2013, a team from the University of Wollongong (UOW) won the Solar Decathlon China with its Illawarra way to Dubai, where they will re-assemble an entire home for entry Flame House. Spurred on by this success, UOW has entered a team in this year’s competition: Desert Rose. in the Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018. Sean McGowan According to Desert Rose operations manager Emily Ryan, Team UOW is applying all the lessons learned reports. from the 2013 competition to give this year’s entry every chance of success. “We learned a lot from our experiences last time so we’ve adopted new practices where possible,” Dubai is surely one of the most extreme examples “The SDME 2018 embraces the goal of developing says Ryan. of humans putting their stamp on the landscape. and promoting ideas, capacities and technologies Skyscraper hotels tower above the dunes, lush that can be implemented for the benefit of “We’ve learned to plan more effectively from an early green golf courses punctuate the desert, and the inhabitants of the Middle East region,” stage, and engage sponsors and team members super man-made islands are so big they’re visible from says the competition organiser. early to ensure we have all the skills we need. We have space. But later this month a building project is developed better health and safety methods, as well The Decathlon is made up of 10 contests that taking place that will showcase what can be done as document control methods to make sure we keep challenge teams to adapt their designs for the on a much smaller scale, and in a highly sustainable all our resources well managed and easy to pass on heat, dust and high humidity of Dubai during way – the Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME). to any future teams. November. These are architecture, engineering The Solar Decathlon is the world’s largest and construction, energy management, energy “And we learned that a trial build is super important, international engineering and architectural efficiency, comfort conditions, house functioning, so we made sure to plan that in again this time.” competition for collegiate institutions, held once sustainable transportation, sustainability, every two years. This year it is being held in Dubai, communication and innovation. Team UOW also used feedback from judges to and will involve 21 teams, each designing and inspire its entry in the competition. Through practical Each project must be a good response to our building a net-zero energy, solar-powered house. collaboration between students and industry, Desert cultural, climatic and social contexts, as well as a Rose endeavours to change the way the world views As you’d expect, this year’s competition places high-performance prototype that should successfully sustainable housing. The idea is to build a home that particular emphasis on teams addressing the needs perform during the period of time during which is architecturally inspiring, affordable and adaptive of the Middle East. it compares with others. to someone’s needs as they continue to age. 10 | HVAC&R Nation | www.airah.org.au/nation | October 2018 Feature “A team of students is building something that almost feels abstract and impossible, into a real house that people can not only live in,” he says, “but one that can improve the quality of lives for our elders and future generations.” NET-POSITIVE DESIGN The Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018 requires all teams to meet extremely strict internal conditions, including maintaining the internal temperature of the house between 23°C and 25°C, and relative humidity between 35 and 60 per cent. Dubai’s hot and humid climate has created major challenges for Team UOW, not least of which is energy use. To simulate regular energy consumption of the home, the team has to host three dinner parties, wash and dry clothes daily, boil water, and operate the oven as well as other appliances such as a television and computer. “On top of this, we are given an electric vehicle and are required to drive it a certain distance regularly, The “HVAC cage” of the Desert Rose House. and charge it through the Desert Rose electrical supply,” says McDowell. The competition includes a limit on how much power can be inverted, as well as a “time of use” Team UOW has been working on the Desert Rose tariff where power from the grid is four times more House for over two years, with more than 200 students expensive (using artificial currency) during the day involved across the University and TAFE. An additional than if used between 10pm and 6am. The Desert Rose House is 80 sponsors, as well as industry participants, have supported the entry. Team UOW estimates the house will need to meet designed to be a net-positive a daily energy load of 45.94kWh, which over the two- For students it provides a unique opportunity to put week competition period is estimated to be 490kWh. their education into practice, and initiate change. house throughout the year” This load will be entirely met by onsite solar power “Our team is also culturally and disciplinary diverse,” says generation via 104 solar tiles installed on the south-facing McDowell. “This gives students the opportunities to roof space (sunny side in the northern hemisphere) interact with other people that their standard degrees of the house, which will generate a peak of 10.4kW. might not necessarily involve, and exposes them to what other areas do and how you can benefit greatly “We estimate under the solar, thermal and dusty Ryan says the Desert Rose House is a “house for life” – from working with people from different backgrounds.” conditions of Dubai to generate 46.5kWh per day one that a couple can move into when they retire and during the competition period,” says McDowell. McDowell says it has been life-changing for all those remain in for the remainder of their lives as the house “So the Desert Rose House is designed to be a net- involved. positive house throughout the year.” adapts to suit their needs as they age. “This includes catering to changing physical needs and age-related disabilities including dementia,” she says. The Desert Rose House has been designed using passive design principles combined with smart technologies in the HVAC and building management systems. This ensures thermal comfort for the occupants. Student leader and project manager Clayton McDowell explains that the team was also conscious of making the house affordable, even though this aspect is not part of the Middle East competition. “The organisers felt it would hamper innovation so they removed it, despite our protests,” he says. As for the cost of building the Desert Rose House in the real world, McDowell says it is hard to price because the technology used is typically five years ahead of market. “We have prototypes that we have developed and other items that do not exist in Australia. We are still trying to determine a market value if we were to strip all these out. But although some of the technology is These chilled water tanks very expensive, the positive of taking it to the Middle will store thermal energy East is that there is great opportunity for it to be using a salt hydrate phase change material. picked up, which will eventually reduce the cost so that everyday customers back home can afford it.” October 2018 | www.airah.org.au/nation | HVAC&R Nation | 11 Feature FRESH IDEAS The Decathlon demands that competing teams FLAME OF INSPIRATION push the boundaries of technology. So Team UOW has embraced a unique residential HVAC solution to maintain internal conditions within the Desert Rose The University of Wollongong knows what it – could be modified and retrofitted to be an ultra- House. takes to succeed in a Solar Decathlon competition, sustainable home for the future. having won the Solar Decathlon China 2013 Team UOW used the Living Building Challenge as “We originally investigated the use of a solar desiccant with its Illawarra Flame House. cooling system,” says McDowell. “But it’s sometimes a guide for material selection. Each component or difficult to generate such high temperatures to Beating 19 other teams, Team UOW finished material was selected for low embodied energy, regenerate the desiccant material in a small residential with 957.6 points out of a possible 1,000. high recycled content, minimal impact on air system.” and water quality, non-hazardous formulation, It took out top place in three of the juried contests local production and third-party accreditation, Instead, the team is using an enthalpy recovery – engineering, architecture and solar application wherever possible. ventilator (ERV) to treat the hot humid fresh air before – and came first in two of the measured contests it enters the Desert Rose House. – energy balance and hot water. The air conditioning system featured a unique combination of a photovoltaic thermal (PVT) air The benefit of utilising the ERV is that it can recover The project name was inspired by the Illawarra system coupled with a phase-change material both sensible and latent heat from the exhaust air. Flame Tree, a species native to the eastern (PCM) thermal store to provide heating and The exhaust air then passes through a desiccant seaboard of Australia.