Program in Urban Planning and Policy Development, Rutgers University, Revised 3/7/16
Solar Decathlon Seminar
10:762:496:06:56661 Undergraduate
34:970:651:02:56659 Graduate
Wednesdays 9:50 am to 12:30 pm
Spring 2011
Civic Square Building, Room CSB 168
3 credits
Professor Clinton Andrews
367 Civic Square Building
Telephone: 932-3822 x721
Email: cja1@rutgers.edu
Class Sakai Site: http://sakai.rutgers.edu/Solar_Decathlon_Course_Sp11
This seminar provides an academic framework for students working on the Rutgers/NJIT entry in
the 2011 Solar Decathlon competition. Our student team—Team New Jersey—is one of 20
participating in an international competition to design and build the world’s best net-zero energy,
solar-powered house. The competition is hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy and the full
size (1000-square-foot) houses will be constructed on the mall in front of the U.S. Capitol in
Washington, DC, in September 2011. The Solar Decathlon includes ten contests: architecture,
market appeal, engineering, communications, affordability, comfort zone, hot water, appliances,
home entertainment, and energy balance. Hundreds of thousands of visitors will tour the
competition houses.
Each student will become actively involved in the work of one of Team New Jersey’s student
committees, which currently include Design, Logistics, and Communications. Working with
architecture students at NJIT, Rutgers students majoring in engineering, landscape architecture,
graphic arts, urban planning, environmental science, business, journalism, and many other fields
will work together to design and build a house that can win the ten contests. Specific projects of
these committees cover a wide range of topics including solar electric and solar thermal system
design, heating and cooling system design, appliance selection, lighting design, structural design,
landscape design, interior design, design of control and monitoring systems including iPhone
apps and Google widgets, housing market analysis, housing finance, exhibition planning, website
enhancement, streaming video production, photography, blogging, written marketing materials
and technical briefs, managing and carrying out the construction process, transporting the house
to Washington DC, and organizing a series of events related to the competition.
The seminar format is intended to encourage students to advance their project work, reflect on its
significance, and put it into an appropriate context. Students will devote part of each weekly class
period to guided discussion (“Elements of….”), and the other part to coordination of individual
work on projects. Each “Elements of…” class session will feature a visiting expert or an
introductory lecture by the instructor. The mix of students will ensure that discussion is broadbased and multidisciplinary. Students will periodically update their peers on their progress on
particular projects so that everyone has a sense of what others are doing and how their efforts fit
together. We will meet jointly with our NJIT counterparts every second week.
No special disciplinary or mathematical background is required but students will be encouraged
to use whatever they have. Students will be expected to develop familiarity with Autodesk’s
Revit and Ecotect software during this course.
Course requirements include active participation in classroom discussions (10% of grade);
contributing at least one substantive class presentation (10%); and the student’s choice of final
project (80%). No exams.
Rutgers’ academic integrity policy will be strictly enforced in this course. (See full text at
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml). The following is excerpted from it:
Students must assume responsibility for maintaining honesty in all work submitted for credit and
in any other work designated by the instructor of the course. Students are also expected to report
incidents of academic dishonesty to the instructor or dean of the instructional unit.
Students committing acts of academic dishonesty not only face university censure but run a
serious risk of harming their future educational and employment opportunities. In addition to the
notation for a specific sanction placed on the student's transcript and which remains for the term
of the sanction, prospective employers and other educational institutions frequently use
recommendation forms that ask for judgment and comment on an individual's moral or ethical
behavior. Since such forms are sent with the permission of the student, University faculty and
administrators knowledgeable of academic dishonesty infractions are ethically bound to report
such incidences. In all cases in which a grade of "F" is assigned for disciplinary reasons,
moreover, the "F" will remain on the student's transcript, even if the course is retaken and a
passing grade is achieved.
Readings:
You should purchase the books listed below at the Rutgers bookstore or online. All of the
remaining assigned readings are available on the Internet or are stored in electronic form as pdf
files on the class Sakai site.
Johnston, D., and S. Gibson. 2008. Green from the Ground Up. Taunton Press:
Newtown, CT, 330 pp.
O'Gorman, J.F. 1998. ABC of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia, PA,
127 pp.
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Schedule of Classes
WEEK
DATE
LECTURE TOPIC
1
Jan. 19
Introduction, review contest rules, evaluate past competitions
2
Jan. 25
Evaluate our design, allocate project tasks, joint class w/NJIT
3
Feb. 2
Elements of architectural, structural & landscape design
4
Feb. 9
Organize work on construction documents, joint class w/NJIT
5
Feb. 16
Elements of HVAC & plumbing system design
6
Feb. 23
Prepare construction documents, joint class w/NJIT
7
Mar. 2
Elements of electrical, controls & solar photovoltaic system design
8
Mar. 9
Review construction documents & costs, joint class w/NJIT
Spring Break
9
Mar. 23
Construction site health & safety management, joint class w/NJIT
10
Mar. 30
Elements of housing market analysis and finance
11
Apr. 6
Commercialization potential of our design, joint class w/NJIT
12
Apr. 13
Elements of real estate sales, marketing & communication
13
Apr. 20
Review final project summary, joint class w/NJIT
14
Apr. 27
Review final exhibit & presentation materials
3
Schedule of Topics, Readings, and Assignments
January 19
Introduction, review contest rules, evaluate past competitions
Introduction and course overview, the Solar decathlon competition, contest rules,
evaluation of previous entries
Required Reading:
U.S. Department of Energy. 2011. Solar Decathlon. Browse rules and history
sections thoroughly. http://www.solardecathlon.gov/
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2010. Green Building. Available at
http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding.
Wikipedia. 2010. Green Building. Available at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_building.
January 25
Joint class w/NJIT, evaluate our design, allocate project tasks, BIM intro
Discuss feedback received on design development submission, evaluate the
competitiveness of our entry, allocate project tasks among students, learn basics of
Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools including Autodesk Revit.
Required Reading:
U.S. Department of Energy. 2011. Solar Decathlon. Browse 2011 teams
section thoroughly. http://www.solardecathlon.gov/
Autodesk. 2011. Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 English Tutorials.
Browse “Getting Started” items at
http://students.autodesk.com/?nd=revit2011_english.
Sakai site. Review the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s comments
on the design development package thoroughly.
February 2
Elements of architectural, structural & landscape design, BIM lab
Uses of buildings, architectural programming, architectural aesthetics, types and origins
of structural systems, building materials, landscape elements, become more familiar with
BIM tools in a lab setting, focusing on Revit
Required Reading:
O'Gorman, J.F. 1998. ABC of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania
Press: Philadelphia, PA, 127 pp.
Autodesk. 2011. Autodesk Revit Architect 2011. Browse modeling basics and
design process tutorials at
http://students.autodesk.com/ama/orig/bim2010/videos/index.htm.
Sakai site. Review the design development package thoroughly, focusing
especially on the characteristics of designing with pre-cast concrete.
February 9
Joint class w/NJIT, organize work on construction documents
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Coordinate project work among Rutgers & NJIT students, identify key deadlines and
work backwards from them to organize and make progress on critical tasks
Required Reading:
Sakai site. Review the project deliverables and flowchart, draft detailed plans
for your own work.
February 16
Elements of HVAC & plumbing system design, BIM lab
Heating and cooling load estimation, Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system
design, plumbing system design, use BIM tools in a lab setting, focusing on the Ecotect
simulator
Required Reading:
Randolph, J. and G.M. Masters. 2008. Energy for Sustainability: Technology, Planning,
Policy. Washington, DC: Island Press. Chapters 6 & 7 (pp. 213-262).
Johnston, D., and S. Gibson. 2008. Green from the Ground Up. Taunton
Press: Newtown, CT, pp. 155-172, 173-196, 251-272, 273-286.
Autodesk. 2011. Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2011. Browse mechanical and
plumbing system oriented green design and multidisciplinary
coordination tutorials at
http://students.autodesk.com/ama/orig/bim2010/videos/index.htm.
Sakai site. Review the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing sections of the
design development drawings and project manual.
February 23
Joint class w/NJIT, prepare construction documents
Continue with project work among Rutgers & NJIT students, share updates with other
team members
Required Reading:
Sakai site. Review updates on the Sakai site.
March 2
Elements of electrical, controls & solar photovoltaic system design, BIM lab
Electric load calculations, electrical system design, digital monitoring and control system
design, solar photovoltaic system design.
Required Reading:
Johnston, D., and S. Gibson. 2008. Green from the Ground Up. Taunton
Press: Newtown, CT, pp. 43-66, 199-202.
Autodesk. 2011. Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2011. Browse electrical system
oriented green design and multidisciplinary coordination tutorials at
http://students.autodesk.com/ama/orig/bim2010/videos/index.htm.
Sakai site. Review the electrical and solar sections of the design development
drawings and project manual.
5
March 9
Joint class w/NJIT, review construction documents & cost estimate
Perform final review of construction documents (due 3/22/11 to NREL). Revisit the cost
estimate. Work with other Rutgers and NJIT students to deliver final fixes prior to
deadline.
Required Reading:
Sakai site. Review updates on the Sakai site.
Spring Break
March 23 Joint class w/NJIT, construction site health & safety management
Learn basics of construction site health and safety procedures, focus on the special
challenges associated with pre-cast concrete construction.
Required Reading:
Sakai site. Review the health and safety plan and associated construction
drawings and project manual sections.
March 30 Elements of housing market analysis and finance
Real estate financial calculations, analysis of housing markets and associated
demographic and economic drivers.
Required Reading:
Steiner, Frederick, and Kent Butler. 2007. “Financial planning and analysis:
The pro forma,” Pp. 406-414 in Planning and Urban Design
Standards, Student Edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Randolph, J. and G.M. Masters. 2008. Energy for Sustainability:
Technology, Planning, Policy. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Chapter 5 (pp. 165-212).
Sakai site. Review the housing market analysis performed for Team New
Jersey.
April 6
Joint class w/NJIT, commercialization potential of our design
Discuss the innovative features of our design, the commercialization potential of each,
and the factors governing protection of the associated intellectual property rights.
Required Reading:
Andrews, C.J., and U. Krogmann. 2009. "Explaining the adoption of energyefficient technologies in U.S. commercial buildings,” Energy and
Buildings 41: 287–294.
Rutgers University Office of Technology Commercialization. Browse at
http://otc.rutgers.edu/downloads/index.php.
Sakai site. Review the final construction drawings and project manual.
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April 13
Elements of real estate sales, marketing & communication
Principles of marketing and communicating persuasively, real estate sales practices,
professional ethics.
Required Reading:
Real Estate abc. Real Estate & Mortgage Resources. Browse at
http://www.realestateabc.com.
Sakai site. Review the siting analysis performed for Team New Jersey.
April 20
Joint class w/NJIT, review final project summary
Perform final review of the project summary submission (due 4/26/11 to NREL). Work
with other Rutgers and NJIT students to deliver final fixes prior to deadline.
Required Reading:
Sakai site. Review the final project summary.
April 27
Review final exhibit & presentation materials
Perform final review of exhibit & presentation materials (due 6/30/11 to NREL). Work
with other Rutgers and NJIT students to deliver final fixes prior to deadline.
Required Reading:
Sakai site. Review the exhibit and presentation materials.
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