Let the race begin!!! (ME)

Solar Decathalon event this morning. I got there at opening time, 10 AM. By 11 AM there were lines out all of the open houses. I went to U of MD first. (Go Terps!) Very nice. I'll watch to see how they do. They had Warmboard covered by eucalyptus wood floors. PV panels and vacuum tubes on the roof. Motorized louvers on the Windows. I also went to U of Missouri. Watts Radiant was on display there. (Big surprise:)) They had a pre-piped panel by Watts in a closet out back running the radiant floor. (by Watts again). I stopped by U of Colorado. Very interesting. They had a curtain divider between the Kitchen and Living area made of copper pipe with a fan that could blow over them to heat or cool depending on what temp water was circulating through them. They had 2 large cylinders floor to ceiling, 3 ft in diameter, incorporated into the Living space full of water, and a heat pump that would concurrently heat one while cooling the other. This water would be used for A/C or Heating. They had 3 times the PV panels the home would need, just in case of overcast skys like last time. It was a friendly crowd and everybody was talking to everybody. I met 2 junior executives from Mobil Exxon, who were actively recruiting the college students from the solar homes for jobs. The brightest and the best. They asked me for a card, just to be polite I'm sure. :) One lady I struck up a conversation with was telling all about the geo-thermal heat pump her brother was putting in the house he was building. From her description the house sounded pretty impressive. I asked her what her brother did for a living. She said.....Oh he's the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, very matter of factly. Brian Billick? No way. Way cool. Wish I could of stayed longer. WW

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