UK to Partner With Louisville, Ball State in 2013 Solar Decathlon

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 31, 2012) — The University of Kentucky will participate in a recently announced team that will compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2013 Solar Decathlon, the agency announced Jan. 26.

Led by the University of Louisville, the team, titled Kentuckiana, will represent a combined Kentucky-Indiana effort with Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., and UK.

The faculty-student team is among 20 chosen internationally to showcase solar-powered houses at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif., next fall. The houses are to highlight renewable energy systems and energy-efficient technologies, products and appliances already available to homeowners.

While the construction of the house and the fundraising will be done at the University of Louisville, Ball State will assist with architectural design, and UK will advise the team in the project logistics, energy analysis, HVAC systems (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and photovoltaic design systems.

Click here to read the article by the U.S. Department of Energy.

In 2009, the University of Kentucky's S•KY BLUE House placed ninth in the Solar Decathlon competition in Washington, D.C. This was UK's first time participating in the Solar Decathlon.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jenny Wells, (859) 257-5343; Jenny.Wells@uky.edu