All good things must come to an end, and that includes our regular blog updates from the super successful First Light team, who finished an impressive third place out of 19 teams at the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon Competition. The Victoria University team was the first team from the Southern Hemisphere to make it to the competition, an impressive feat in and of itself. In their final blog for Design Daily, the team looks back at the most memorable moments in what has been a very challenging and rewarding year.
It may not have been first place, but when Victoria University’s First Light team was named third in the highly prestigious and super competitive Solar Decathlon competition, they tell us it felt like they’d won the competition. In their latest blog, the team enlighten us on how the various contest within the competition worked in their favour, sometimes unexpectedly.
How long does it take to put together a solar-passive house complete with all the interior fittings? Six and a half days if you’re the First Light team. With the house completed and already graced by some famous faces, the team is now focused on the contest side of things.
Shipping a flat-packed house to the US and constructing it in mere days is a challenge in and of itself. But when the First Light team recently touched down in the U.S to compete in the prestigious US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011, it hadn't counted on the challenge posed by hurricanes and earthquakes.
It’s been a lengthy and thorough process for the First Light team, and as they explain in their latest blog, it’s time for all their efforts to pay off with the first representatives from the team hitting Washington, D.C. for the prestigious US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011. They’ve also secured an impressive new sponsor and have unveiled four new videos to give you an insight into the workings of the house.
In their latest blog, the First Light team delve into some of the more bespoke pieces of furniture inside the house, crafted by some top-notch Kiwi designers.
From the outside, the Meridian First Light house is a thing of wooden beauty. Cast your eyes skyward and you’ll see the solar panels on top, immediately alluding to the house’s energy savvy principals. But what about what’s on the inside? In its latest blog, the First Light team explains how the the challenge of limited space brought out the team's crafty and innovative streak.
Somewhere out there, making it’s way slowly but surely, are bits and pieces of a house that, when reassembled in the US, could earn its creators some pretty prestigious notoriety. In their latest blog, the First Light team detail the process involved in getting all the pieces of their house safely across to the US to participate in the US Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon competition—not the easiest of feats when the NZ Building Code compliant house also has to meet US Building codes standards, just to gain entry into the US.
Somewhere out there, making it’s way slowly but surely, are bits and pieces of a house that, when reassembled in the US, could earn its creators some pretty prestigious notoriety. In their latest blog, the First Light team detail the process involved in getting all the pieces of their house safely across to the US to participate in the US Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon competition—not the easiest of feats when the NZ Building Code compliant house also has to meet US Building codes standards, just to gain entry into the US.
Since the First Light team’s last blog for us, the house in Wellington’s Frank Kitts Park has been in the process of gradually being disassembled and packed up in preparation for its long journey to the US. But with rain making things a little dirty and numerous house parts to carefully label and organise, disassembling hasn’t been without its challenges.
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