GRoW Home Delivers Stellar Performance in UB's Solar Decathlon Debut

UB's super-efficient GRoW Home earned second overall and placed top-five in each of the Solar Decathlon's 10 contests. The house placed first in three of those contests, all in measures of energy performance. The 2015 Solar Decathlon took place Oct. 8-18, in Irvine, Ca. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

 UB's super-efficient GRoW Home earned second overall and placed top-five in each of the Solar Decathlon's 10 contests. The house placed first in three of those contests, all in measures of energy performance. The 2015 Solar Decathlon took place Oct. 8-18, in Irvine, Ca. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

Proposing a new way of living with energy, the GRoW Home embraces Buffalo's urban farming culture and its seasonal weather cycles, offering occupants a seamless indoor-outdoor living experience. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

 Proposing a new way of living with energy, the GRoW Home embraces Buffalo's urban farming culture and its seasonal weather cycles, offering occupants a seamless indoor-outdoor living experience. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

The physical heart of the home, the GRowlarium is a year‐round growing space that captures the sun’s light and warmth during the winter and opens up to outdoor living during Buffalo’s comfortable summer and shoulder seasons. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

 The physical heart of the home, the GRowlarium is a year‐round growing space that captures the sun’s light and warmth during the winter and opens up to outdoor living during Buffalo’s comfortable summer and shoulder seasons. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

UB architecture students designed and built six multifunctional furnishings to enhance the efficiency of the GRoW Home.This canning cabinet complements the home’s urban gardening mission: The console’s lid flips open to reveal a compartment for storing a pressure canner, and four wooden shelves hold mason jars. Photo: Carl Burdick

 UB architecture students designed and built six multifunctional furnishings to enhance the efficiency of the GRoW Home.This canning cabinet complements the home’s urban gardening mission: The console’s lid flips open to reveal a compartment for storing a pressure canner, and four wooden shelves hold mason jars. Photo: Carl Burdick

This student-designed storage unit dividing the bedroom and living area features a rotating television and entertainment platform to serve both rooms. Photo: Carl Burdick

 This student-designed storage unit dividing the bedroom and living area features a rotating television and entertainment platform to serve both rooms. Photo: Carl Burdick

UB GRoW Home's bedroom. Photo: Carl Burdick

 UB GRoW Home's bedroom. Photo: Carl Burdick

The Solar Decathlon's top performer in energy efficiency, UB's GRoW Home features 10-inch-thick structural insulated panels, 6.7 kilowatts of grid-tied solar panels and solar water heating, operative shading and high-performance windows and folding glass doors. Photo: Carl Burdick

 The Solar Decathlon's top performer in energy efficiency, UB's GRoW Home features 10-inch-thick structural insulated panels, 6.7 kilowatts of grid-tied solar panels and solar water heating, operative shading and high-performance windows and folding glass doors. Photo: Carl Burdick

The GRoWlarium features rolling metal tables for holding soil and starter plants. The furniture was fabricated by students with the assistance of Buffalo’s Rigidized Metals Corp. Photo: Carl Burdick

 The GRoWlarium features rolling metal tables for holding soil and starter plants. The furniture was fabricated by students with the assistance of Buffalo’s Rigidized Metals Corp. Photo: Carl Burdick

The 1,100‐square‐foot GRoW Home produces twice the energy it consumes through passive and active solar energy features such as super thick walls and dynamic fenestrations and shading. Photo: Carl Burdick

 The 1,100‐square‐foot GRoW Home produces twice the energy it consumes through passive and active solar energy features such as super thick walls and dynamic fenestrations and shading. Photo: Carl Burdick

The UB GRoW Home GRoWlarium, a 340-square-foot glass-enclosed sunroom that doubles as a greenhouse for growing food year-round. Photo: Carl Burdick

 The UB GRoW Home GRoWlarium, a 340-square-foot glass-enclosed sunroom that doubles as a greenhouse for growing food year-round. Photo: Carl Burdick

The GRoW Home kitchen and its double-sided kitchen table, which students designed to flip from its steel surface for prepping food to a wooden surface for dining. Photo: Carl Burdick

 The GRoW Home kitchen and its double-sided kitchen table, which students designed to flip from its steel surface for prepping food to a wooden surface for dining. Photo: Carl Burdick

Schoolchildren get a tour of the of UB's GRoW Home during the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

 Schoolchildren get a tour of the of UB's GRoW Home during the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

The GRoW Home's signature steel canopy braces 24 Silevo PV panels and a solar water heating system while providing shading for the entire home. It also serves as infrastructure for climbing plants and, eventually, a green wall and roof. Photo: Carl Burdick

 The GRoW Home's signature steel canopy braces 24 Silevo PV panels and a solar water heating system while providing shading for the entire home. It also serves as infrastructure for climbing plants and, eventually, a green wall and roof. Photo: Carl Burdick

Nate Heckman (center) of UB's GRoW Home team leads a tour of the GRoWlarium during one of the competition's public visitation sessions. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

 Nate Heckman (center) of UB's GRoW Home team leads a tour of the GRoWlarium during one of the competition's public visitation sessions. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

UB GRoW Home team member Stephanie Acquario waters plants using water from a morning hot water draw during the Solar Decathlon. Photo: Carol Laurie/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

 UB GRoW Home team member Stephanie Acquario waters plants using water from a morning hot water draw during the Solar Decathlon. Photo: Carol Laurie/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

Thousands were invited inside UB's GRoW Home for tours and a sneak peek at the latest in energy-efficient living. The house will now be shipped back to Buffalo, where it will serve as an energy education center for the community.

 Thousands were invited inside UB's GRoW Home for tours and a sneak peek at the latest in energy-efficient living. The house will now be shipped back to Buffalo, where it will serve as an energy education center for the community.

UB's GRoW Home team celebrates its 3rd place award in the Communications category at the Solar Decathlon. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

 UB's GRoW Home team celebrates its 3rd place award in the Communications category at the Solar Decathlon. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

GRoW Home team members celebrate UB's 2nd place finish on Oct. 17, 2015, at the Orange County Great Park, Irvine, Ca. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

 GRoW Home team members celebrate UB's 2nd place finish on Oct. 17, 2015, at the Orange County Great Park, Irvine, Ca. Photo: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon
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Published October 17, 2015 This content is archived.

Countless hours of designing, building, fine-tuning and fundraising over the past two and a half years have paid off for the more than 200 University at Buffalo students and faculty members who worked on the GRoW Home.

Their super-efficient solar-powered masterpiece placed second overall in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2015 Solar Decathlon. The final results were tabulated Saturday morning and the top three overall place finishers were announced during a ceremony inside a former military hangar in Orange County Great Park, where the 10-day competition has taken place.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled and prouder of the team. Watching them elevate their level of performance with every new milestone that we got to, they just rose to every challenge that they met, said Martha Bohm, GRoW Home faculty advisor and assistant professor of architecture.

UB GRoW Home Finishes Strong

  • The GRoW Home team finished second with 941.191 points out of a possible 1,000, just over nine points behind first-place SURE House by the Stevens Institute of Technology.
  • The house earned top-five placement in each of the 10 contests and won in the three categories. The GRoW Home was the only fully-functional home to come in under the competition's energy use threshold. 
  • Of the non-juried, measured contest categories, UB's house fared best in Comfort Zone (first place with 95.719 out of 100 points), Commuting (tied for first with 100), Energy Balance (tied for first with 100) and Appliances (second with 99.523).
  • In the five juried contests, the GRoW Home placed third in Communications, fourth in Market Appeal; and fifth in Architecture, Affordability and Engineering. 
Final standings and scores
Zoom image: The UB GRoW Home has received second place in the U.S. Department of Energy's 2015 Solar Decathlon. The UB GRoW Home has received second place in the U.S. Department of Energy's 2015 Solar Decathlon.

Reactions from the Team

GRoW Team.
GRoW Home Students via Facebook: "Thank you!"

"Thank you everyone who made this moment possible...Congratulations to all fellow teams and houses!! Like Richard King, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon said, 'It took all of [us] to make a village,' and, yes, we can't agree more."

Community, alumni, friends rally behind project:

UB's successful run in the Solar Decathlon has benefitted from the financial support of more than 450 individuals and organizations. Thanks to all for making UB’s first entry in the Solar Decathlon possible.

Robert Shibley.
Dean Robert G. Shibley

“It’s an incredible compliment to the quality of the student base that produced it, the quality of the faculty that managed it and to the tremendous support we’ve received from our sponsors, both in the Buffalo Niagara region and around the world.”

Martha Bohm.
Martha Bohm, lead faculty advisory and assistant professor of architecture

“We did exceptionally well in the core challenge of this competition, which is making a beautiful piece of architecture perform very well.”

Chris Osterhoudt.
Chris Osterhoudt (MArch '15), project manager

“The competition was incredibly intense. We finished top-five in every contest. For that to happen, every member of the team had to pull their weight and had to do their best, and they did.”

The buzz on GRoW