Keep on Truckin'
An enterprising group of University of Maryland studies has built a solar-powered house. And they're entering their pad in an alternative energy contest sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.
They call it the "LEAFhouse," after the world's most efficient solar panels -- those green things that protrude from those brown objects outside.
But this is the kind of science project that's difficult to just pop into mom's minivan. So, they're lifting their homie onto a giant truck tomorrow afternoon (Oct. 2) on campus, and trucking it to the the National Mall. Let's hope their road trip ends with a big green victory.
But, dudes: don't stop along the way for gas. I don't think a green house would fit very well under that ExxonMobil gas station canopy.
Trucking UM Students’ Solar House to National Mall for U.S. Competition
WHAT:Transporting by truck the Maryland/ D.C. region’s entry in the select Solar Decathlon national competition: a full-sized solar-run house designed and built by University of Maryland students. The solar house will be lifted almost intact onto a special truck to move it from the construction site in College Park to the National Mall for the U.S. Department of Energy competition.
The Maryland team hopes to be the first of the 19 competing universities to set up its entry on the National Mall. It will move through Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C. streets.The students call their solar home the “LEAFhouse” – in part reflecting its green design and in honor of nature’s most efficient solar panel. Solar power is used to run everything in the house, with enough power left over to run an electric car. More information online: http://solarteam.org/page.php?id=250.
WHEN:Tuesday, Oct. 2 from 1pm to 2p.m.:
Loading Truck and moving it to a holding spot via Campus Drive, right in front of the Stamp Student Union.Tuesday, Oct. 2, after 9 p.m.:
Truck begins to move south along Route 1 on its trip to the National MallWednesday, Oct 3, after midnight:
Expected arrival at the National MallWHERE:
Loading will take place at the University of Maryland, College Park at the LEAFhouse construction site near parking lot O2 between the School of Architecture building and Van Munching Hall). Campus Map: http://www.parking.umd.edu/themap/
I report on the environment and Chesapeake Bay. A native of West Virginia, I have focused mainly on Maryland's environment since moving here in 1983. Along the way, I've crewed aboard a skipjack in the bay, canoed under city streets up the Jones Fall from the Inner Harbor, and gone deep underground in a western Maryland coal mine. Recently, I have been covering the growth and development transforming the landscape. I love seafood, rambles in the country and good stories. I hope to share some here.