CU Solar Decathalon (2009 house) Control Systems

By Joshua De La Rosa

Summary:
The 2009 Cornell University Solar Decathlon (CUSD) team consists of a number of students
that are divided into different teams that work together to design and build a functioning house
that is completely solar-powered. The Engineering Team is responsible for designing and creating
a control system that address issues such as power management, electrical installation, and
home automation and control. The 450-square-foot house is still in the design phase and has
not undergone any architectural completion. Thus, the control/automation system will not have
a physical house to manifest itself in for at least eight months. However, because the deadline
of the house's total completion puts restraints on time, the task of the Engineering Team is two-fold:
to design and build a bench-top model of a control system that will function properly and also
to develop a standard, easy-to-follow protocol that allows for the flexibility to easily install
electrical components to the control system of the solar house.

Extended Abstract (PDF)

Installation and protocol manual (PDF)

Presentation powerpoint (PDF)

Poster (PDF)

Demoing the Insteon controls (MP4 3MB)

Building a new ELK rule (MP4(320x240) 25MB or MOV(640x480) 186MB)