Setu Goes Solar with University of Florida Team
This summer, a team of 30 University of Florida students traveled to Madrid for the Solar Decathlon, an international competition that requires building the best self-sustaining house using solar energy and other energy efficient technologies.
The students spent two years designing RE: FOCUS, a modern interpretation of a Florida “cracker house” and their wish list included Herman Miller furniture. The students approached the company about an in-kind donation and it gladly sent a Setu lounge chairs for the project.
It was easy to say yes, says John Kim, Better World marketing manager at Herman Miller, because it was a good fit with the company’s values. “We have a strong connection to higher education, and this was an interesting way to support the students’ learning and to help push the boundary of what makes an environmentally friendly home,” he says.
While the RE: FOCUS project didn’t win the competition, it did take first place in the Communications and Social Awareness category and second place in the Energy Balance category. The Setu lounge chairs helped the team meet the sustainability criteria (it’s 93% recyclable). And, because it’s comfortable and has breathable material, it provided a place for visitors seeking respite from 95-degree heat.
Photo 1 courtesy of the University of Florida
Photo 2 courtesy of Pete Vastyan
It appears from the layout of the house that it is designed with a very open interior to take advantage of natural ventilation. That’s an old-fashioned substitute for air conditioning that more home builders in moderate climates could stand to imitate. We tend to keep our houses so closed up that they never get a good airing out any more. Sick building syndrome (SBS) has been recognized as a problem since at least the early 1980s, but the solution (a higher volume of air exchange) seems out of reach. That’s because people are thinking in terms of bigger/better HVAC systems instead of ways to simply open up their buildings to the open air.
Daisy McCarty
http://www.sandiegocubicles.com/blog/