Phoenix House Rises as Conn Center Office And Labs

It's the funky-looking building behind the University of Louisville's Speed School of Engineering that started out as a student-led entry in the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon competition. The so-called Phoenix House was built to be a small, self-contained home running on solar power that could be plopped down in disaster areas that didn't have electricity or water. "I'm proud to say that the majority of the building was built student- either help, volunteer most of it" "We did lots of research on different types of technology we wanted to put in, what kind of solar panels, what type of water systems, even bathrooms, toilets, refrigerators, anything that could be more efficient and make the house better. "The house was originally built in 2013 as part of the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon competition, and then it came back to the University of Louisville after that competition was over and we have taken it and sited it here on campus as a way to extend its life and transform it into a place where renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies can be showcased, and projects that we're working on in our laboratories can be brought out here and demonstrated. We also work with the industry to gather data on their projects before they go to market." On this day, UofL's Phoenix House is being rededicated as administrative offices for the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research. The bedrooms are now office space, the kitchen workspace, running on the power of the Sun, a living laboratory for renewable energy ideas. "We are hoping this inspires a whole other generation of students to go and address some of the critical grand challenges in the energy area that face their generation.