Solar-powered house gets new life at Speed School

A funky-looking house designed by students for a national energy-efficiency competition is getting new life at the University of Louisville.

The solar-powered Phoenix House was the UofL-Ball State University entry at the 2013 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon in Los Angeles, where it won the affordability challenge. It is now located on the Belknap Campus in the J.B. Speed School of Engineering complex, and it is being converted into the administrative offices of the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research.

The house also will be the Conn Center’s “living laboratory” for studying renewable energy and energy efficiency prototype technologies in conjunction with industry.

A ribbon cutting and dedication was held May 12 to celebrate the Phoenix House’s new use.

“We are hoping this inspires a whole other generation of students to go and address some of the critical general challenges in the energy arena that face this generation,” said Mark McGinley, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Speed School.

Andrew Marsh, assistant director of the Conn Center, added that the new use for the Phoenix House “extends its life” as it is transformed into a place that showcases the center’s projects and its work with industry.

Check out a video about the Phoenix House below.