Bartlett High School alumnus Bret Wilgenbusch is doing his part to go green as a sophomore in college.
As a member of Iowa State University’s Solar Decathlon team, Wilgenbusch has headed to Washington, D.C., to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon from Oct. 9 through 18.
In the 18 months leading up to the competition, Wilgenbusch and 16 other students designed and built a solar-powered house they are now reassembling in the competition.
The Solar Decathlon joins 20 college and university teams to design, build and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient, solar-powered house, according to its Web site.
The contest began in 2002 and since then, the Solar Decathlon has developed into one of the nation’s premiere venues for research and development of green building technologies. More than 100,000 visitors tour the houses during the event.
Updates on the competition are available at Iowa State’s Web site, www.news.iastate.edu/news/2009/oct/SolarD%20Updates.
While preparing for the decathlon in Washington, Wilgenbusch spoke with the Press about construction engineering.
Q Have you always been passionate about construction engineering?
A I guess so. When I was young, I wanted to be an engineer, and I liked building things. When I found out that construction engineering was a major, I really wanted to do it. When I was really little, I always played with Legos. When I got older, I built nine picnic tables for a children’s summer camp.
Q What was your biggest challenge in creating the solar-powered house over the past 18 months?
A Several things — following the guidelines provided by the Department of Energy. And we couldn’t build it like a normal house. We had to build it to take it apart. Also the efficiency of the house. We had to make sure the solar panels provided all the power that was needed for air conditioning and lighting in the house.
Q Are you nervous something will go wrong when reassembling the house?
A No, if something goes wrong, we will just fix it and get it done.
Q What are you looking forward to most at the Decathlon?
A Finally completing the house and checking out all other schools and houses they created.
